


A Promise

by Spuffy93



Category: Veronica Mars (TV)
Genre: Child Abuse, F/M, Minor Character Death, Rape References
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2014-06-23
Updated: 2015-10-06
Packaged: 2018-02-05 22:54:51
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 14
Words: 40,734
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/1835224
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Spuffy93/pseuds/Spuffy93
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>After Logan finds out that his mom was really dead, the situation in the Echolls house gets very bad. Aaron takes out his anger on his son and the whippings get more vicious and frequent.<br/>Meanwhile, Veronica finds out a new information that turn upside down her world and make her remember of an old promise made to one of her best friends so many years ago.</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. Do You Remember?

**Author's Note:**

> Ok, the other day I read the story, “Do you remember?”, It was good but it didn't respect canon as much as I would have liked. The author wrote that she was inspired by the song “Do you remember – The Summer Obsession”. It's a beautiful song and inspired me too.  
> I warn you, I'm Italian and this is my very first English LONG fic so if you'll find errors please write it in the review.
> 
> I wanna thanks my fantastic BETA. 
> 
> Timeline: After the episode “Betty and Veronica” but before of all the mess with Abel's daughter.

**1\. Do you remember?**

  
  


Logan was late for his journalism class, after four hour of class, in which he was obligated to sit on a very uncomfortable chair, he was thinking of skipping the rest altogether.

Yesterday his _daddy dearest_ had whipped him again after he had answered at his question with a sarcastic comment and Aaron hadn't liked it. His back was killing him.

He was in the corridor, walking toward the door that lead to the parking lot, when he heard someone sobbing in a empty classroom.

He thought for some second to ignore the sound, but something made him turn around. When he looked in the classroom the sight that welcomed him was not a good one.

Veronica Mars was the one crying.

Without a second thought he opened the door and went to her.

“Veronica?”

She stopped to sob instantly and looked up to him.

“What do you want, Logan? Come to make fun of me?” she asked, standing up.

“No,” Logan answered.

She stared at him for a long time.

“What happened?” he asked, after a while.

In the past weeks their relationship had started to change, even though they weren't the best of friends. The anger and bitterness of the past weren't there anymore.

“I don't wanna talk about it,” her answer was short and maybe a little harsh, but Logan could see that she wasn't angry at him.

“Ronnie, I know that I wasn't here for you for the past year and half but you can trust me like I trusted you with my mom,"

  
  


Veronica thought about his answer.

In the past year and half Logan had made fun of her at every occasion but he never betrayed her most inner secrets. Even when he was most angry at her he never used her secrets to hurt her, not the truly important ones.

“ok, but not here," she took his hand and lead him to the parking lot, toward her LeBaron.

Logan followed her without a question and got in the car. She drove toward Dog Beach, parked in her usual spot and walked towards the ocean with Logan at her side.

The beach was empty, there wasn't a living soul around them. Veronica sat down and Logan sat beside her.

“What's up?” he asked after some minutes of silence.

“Do you remember Shelly's party? The one after Lilly's death?”

“Yep..."

“Well, I don't," she said with a sad smile. “I was there to show to all the 09ers that I didn't care for their gossip. Someone gave me a drink. It was drugged. I passed out near the pool and the first thing I remember was waking up in a strange bed the day after without my panties, there was blood on the sheets and when I tried to get up I was incredibly sore," Logan went pale and Veronica could see that he was trying to not cry.

“You were raped?”

Veronica simply nodded.

“But why you didn't report it?”

“I did, Lamb laughed at me,"

She could see that Logan first thought was to go to the sheriff's department and beat up the bastard.

“Don't," she stopped him before he could think of standing up.

“I don't understand, Ronnie. You could have proved it! You could have gone to the fucking hospital..."

“Yeah? And after? Even if there was proof of the... the rape, what would happened? At the party there were only 09ers. They would have paid some SOB of a lawyer and got out of the situation with a slap on the wrist and I would had become the slut who lied," tears were running on her cheeks.

Logan's heart broke in that instant. It was true. But what was really killing him was knowing what he did that night to her, directly and non.

“I'm so sorry, Veronica. O God, I didn't know, I swear, Ronnie," he started to sob uncontrollably.

“What?” she asked confused.

“I had the stuff, Ronnie, but I swear I wasn't the one that gave it to you. I'm so sorry,"

She looked at him with disgust in her eyes and slapped him with all her strength.

“I'm so sorry..." he said again.

“Why did you have drugs on you? You wanted to drugs someone?” she was clearly disgusted by the thought.

“No, I swear. It wasn't a good period of my life, our life, and I did some very stupid shit. I wanted to have fun, forget my life. So when I went to TJ I brought some GHB. I had two doses. One that I gave to Tad and the other that I split it in half. One for me and the second one I gave it to Duncan. He was like a zombie and I wanted him back, for a night. The dose wasn't enough to take him down, I know cause it was like I was buzzed.

I'm so sorry, you seemed only drunk and I saw you with some 09ers near the pool. They were giving you drinks and made you kiss Shelly. I was so angry at you, I wanted to humiliate you so I did some body shots on you,"

“What happened after?” she felt disgusted and angry.

“Duncan came to you rescue. He made us leave. It was the moment I gave him the drugged drink. After I found some chick and I went away with her,"

“You saw me?”

“No, after the body shoot no," she could see that he wasn't proud of himself.

“I'm sorry, Veronica. If I had knew..." he looked at his hands. “It's all my fault. If I hadn't made ok for everyone to hurt you, if I stood by your side... I'm so sorry,"

Veronica sighed. She wasn't proud of his actions, but he didn't drugged her and he didn't raped her. He humiliated her with the body shots but she could see that he was truly disgusted by his past actions.

“Logan, you're not my favourite person right now, but I know you and I know that you wouldn't hurt me that way,"

Logan looked her in the eyes and she almost could hear him saying that he was truly and deeply sorry.

“I believe you, Logan. I'm not saying that it was your fault, you didn't raped me," she lifted her hand to his cheek and whipped away his tears. “You weren't on your best behaviour but you can't take all the fault, ok?”

Logan nodded but couldn't stop the tears. They stayed in silence for a while, crying the sorrow out of them.

“Why were you crying at school? We got a little sidetracked with all the confessions," he said, trying to lift the mood.

“I was early for journalism. Duncan was in the class, writing on his MacBook. Someone from the direction asked him to go to Clemmon's office. He didn't see me. He left his MacBook there. I opened it, I know his password. He was writing on a sort of diary," she smiled but Logan could see that wasn't an happy one. “I wanted to read what he remembered of the day of Lilly's death. I was scrolling backward and I found an entry dated the day after Shelly's party. It was him. He found me in a room alone. I came around and told him I loved him. We kissed and started to take each other clothes off. He wrote that he know I was drunk but he couldn't stop himself. I think that after some minute I passed out because he wrote that I didn't said anything after... he fell asleep with me. The morning after he woke up, he remembered what happened and was disgusted," Logan tried to stop her but she went on. “He wasn't disgusted by what he did, he still thinks that that wasn't rape, only an error because he thinks that I'm his half-sister, Logan. That why he broke up with me. Celeste told him that there was a good chance that Jake was my father because at the time of my conception he and my mom had a relationship,"

  
  


Logan was without words. His best friend had dumped Veronica because he thought that she was his sister, but when he and all the 09ers started to treat her badly he hadn't said a thing.

“How can I go to school tomorrow? He'll be there, he took my virginity even knowing that I could be his sister! Every time I'll look at him I'll see it. How can I avoid him? We have two classes together and in these past weeks we were trying to became friends again!” Veronica hugged him and Logan flinched away. She stopped and looked him in the eyes.

Without giving him time to stop her she lifted his shirt and found out his new set of wounds.

“Logan!”

He sighed and let her examine the bruises and the cuts.

“Your dad's behaviour worsened..." she whispered.

“Yeah... you know, with my dad at home from work... now he has more time to spend with me," the sarcasm dripped from his words.

“I'm sorry, Logan, I didn't noticed it..."

“You are sorry? I'm the one that fucked up with you and you are sorry for something that you can't control?” he was stupefied.

She smiled at him and shrugged.

“What can I say... Is the way I am,"

Logan smiled too and hugged her.

“We are a fucked up duo,"

“Yep..."

They stayed in silence for sometime, watching the gulls that flew over the ocean and some surfers that riding the waves.

“Do you remember that promise?” Veronica whispered her question without looking up at him.

“Yes, I do,"

“Maybe it's time,"

“Are you serious, Ronnie?” he asked stupefied.

“Yes, I'm serious. We need to. Your dad might kill you, Logan. Your mom is not around anymore to try to calm him, Trina doesn't give a shit of you and my dad isn't a sheriff anymore. We need to go,"

“But your dad..."

“He will understand," she stopped him. “And is not like we'll go away and never come back. We'll come back after yours birthday, when your dad can't touch you anymore,"

“Ronnie, I don't want you to run away for me," she shook her head.

“It's not only for you, Logan. I need it to, I need time away from Duncan, from Lilly's case, from the backstabbing people that give me shit all the time at school,"

“Are you sure?”

“I'm sure, Logan,"

“Ok, we'll go,"


	2. The Promise

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> A.N. This chapter is a little short. It's a flashback. I hope you'll like it! See you at the bottom!
> 
> A.N. 2 A big hug to CloudyDream, she is a fabulous BETA.

**2\. The promise**

  
  


_[Flashback to the summer following the transfer of Logan in Neptune]_

Logan came out of the water with his surfboard. He smiled at Lilly and Veronica who were sunbathing on the sand and stuck his surfboard next to them.

"What you think girls?"

"You're sexy on the surfboard, Logan," said Lilly giggling.

"Thanks, Lilly, but I was talking of my performance on the surfboard, not my looks."

"You were fantastic, Logan, even Dick was impressed and he's The surfer around here..." said Veronica smiling sincerely.

"She's right, dude, you rock!"

"Thanks, Ronnie and Dick," he bowed exaggeratedly.

Logan lay down on the towel between the two girls and pressed his cold arms on theirs stomachs making them scream.

"Logan!"

The boy laughed and stood up.

"Wanna go for an ice cream?" he asked his friends.

"No, dude. I think that chick want a piece of Dick..." said Dick looking at Madison Sinclair that was watching him from afar with Shelly and Carrie.

"I can't, Logan. If I want this fabulous body to stay the way it is I must suffer..." she said almost serious. "And I pigged out at lunch..."

Veronica laughed at her best friend and shook her head.

"I'll come, I'm starved."

"When you're not, Veronica Mars?" asked Lilly giggling.

"You have a point, Lilly. So, come on lets go, Logan. Feed me!" she said with an obnoxious air.

Logan bought the ice creams and brought them to the table where Veronica was waiting him.

"What?" he asked seeing his friend with a frown.

"You have something on the collar of your t-shirt, Logan," said Veronica, trying to reach his back. Logan had the hands occupied by the cones and couldn't stop her.

"No, Ronnie..." it was to late. Her hand touched his back and he flinched away in pain.

"Logan?" Veronica looked at her hand and saw that her middle finger had something red on it.

"Ronnie..."

"It's blood..." she looked again at his black t-shirt, it had a big wet spot on the back, Veronica had thought that it was water but now she know better. "You're bleeding..." she said, worried by the amount of blood.

"It's nothing, I fell of the surfboard and cut myself," he tried to cover but Veronica knew that he was lying, she was the daughter of the sheriff, his dad taught her to spot a lie before she was ten.

"You're lying, Logan," she lifted his shirt and saw the bleeding lashings inflicted by his father's belt. "These are cuts, Logan."

"Ronnie..."

"Who did this, Logan?" she asked, taking him for his arm and walking toward the parking lot.

"It's nothing."

"It's not nothing, tell me, Logan!"

"It's my dad, ok? Dad got angry because I skipped school."

"Stay here," Veronica walked back where their friends were sunbathing and joking.

"Hey, Lilly, Logan is taking me back home, my mom is sick and daddy wants me there."

"Yeah, we'll try to live without you," she joked.

"What a horrible thing."

Veronica took theirs bags and after asking Dick to bring Logan's surfboard to his home returned to her friend.

"What are you doing?" he asked.

"We'll go to my house and I'll take care of these wounds and after we'll talk."

Logan didn't protest and walked beside her for the fifteen minutes that took them to reach her home.

"Where are your parents?"

"Dad's at work, Mom I don't know, her car isn't here," she took him in her bedroom. "Lay down on my bed, I'll take the first aid kit and come back,"

She went in the bathroom and came back after one minute.

"Take off your shirt."

"If you wanted to see me naked you could have asked. I would have did it with pleasure," he joked.

"Ah ah.. it was so fun that I forgot to laugh," she deadpanned.

Logan rolled his eyes but did as she asked.

"Happy now?"

Veronica didn't answer, there were three big cuts on his back, some bruises and countless scars. Some old, some new but all visible if you knew where to look.

She used the disinfectant on the open cut and Logan hissed from the pain.

"Sorry... it stings a bit."

After all the cuts were clean she patched him up with some clean bandages.

"I'm done."

Logan sat up and Veronica took place beside him. She didn't say a thing, she waited.

"It's the way he punishs me. If I do something that he thinks can make the family looks bad he whips me or punch me or kick me," he said in a whisper.

"How long?"

"Since I was five. The first time was because I spilled some juice on a Persian carpet. Most parents would have scolded me, some would have spanked me, my daddy, he slapped me hard and punched me in the gut two time screaming how I was a piece of shit," he was crying. "I was five!" he screamed.

"I'm sorry, Logan," Veronica tried to hug him but he flinched away.

"I don't want your pity," he said harshly.

"It's not pity," she answered sincerely. "My mom drinks a lot, she always did but in the last year her drinking habit worsened. My dad says that she is sick, that she has the flu but I know the truth. He is the one that teach me how to spot a lie and now he lies to me! I found some bottles in the trash. And when she's not drinking she is away. I think she has an affair and my dad knows but he's in denial."

"I'm sorry, Ronnie,"

"I don't want your pity" she mocked him with a little smile.

"Ok, I understand, you're not pitying me, you are concerned,"

"Look how smart you are, Lolo," she mocked again.

"You are so funny, Mars,"

"Want to watch a cartoon?"

"No"

"Please?" she asked tilting her head and pouting.

"Ok, you win," he rolled his eyes. "Which one?"

"The Lion King!" she ran in the sitting room and put the tape in the recorder before Logan could say something.

Later on they were watching the scene in which Simba run away from the hyenas.

"You know, sometime I wish that I could run away... from the lies, from my mom, from all this mess, be free for a little bit."

"Me too,"

Logan tried to watch the cartoon but a plan started to take form in his brain.

"We can!" he exclaimed.

"What?"

"Run away. Not now, we are thirteen, but in the future we could. When we'll pass for sixteen years old we'll steal one of my daddy car and run away till my eighteen birthday..."

"Yeah!" she liked the idea. "When the day comes in which will not be able to withstand it, we'll run away..."

"Promise?"

"Promise."

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> A.N. 1190 words
> 
> Like the last time leave me a review and let me know if you like/love/hate it.


	3. Starting a new life

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thanks to shipallllltheships and 0ldlace that helped me with the mistakes.  
> Any residual ones, it's my fault U_U
> 
> Have fun!

* * *

**3\. Starting a new life**

" _It's not only for you, Logan. I need it too, I need time away from Duncan, from Lilly's case, from the backstabbing people that give me shit all the time at school,"_

" _Are you sure?"_

" _I'm sure, Logan,"_

"O _k, we'll go,"_

"We need a plan..."

"I'm all ears... what will we need, Spy Girl?"

"Money."

"I'll provide it," Logan raised his hand like a child in the classroom.

"Good boy," she mocked him. "And documents..." Veronica reached out for her bag and took out a notepad and a pen. "We'll need new names; we need to be untraceable. We can have the same initials. That way I can call you L and you can call me V."

"London,"

"What?"

"My name. London. It's horrible and I hate it but this way you can still mock me by calling me Lolo," he smiled at her and lightly punched her arm.

"And I'll be Victoria. Now, surnames. Give me your phone," Logan gave it to her without hesitation and she started some research on Google. "We can't use the most common ones. Do you like Taylor?" he shrugged. "Ok, you'll be Taylor and I'll be Lee. Middle name?"

"Richard," he pleaded with his big brown eyes. They were beautiful, Veronica knew that she couldn't say no to him so she didn't even try, she rolled her eyes and gave in.

"If they find us, it will be your fault," her tone was harsh but her smile let him know that she wasn't angry. "You are London Richard Taylor, start to internalize it. And I'm Victoria Elisabeth Lee Taylor."

"What?!" he exclaimed.

"When my dad finds out that you're gone too, he'll do the math. We'll be less noticeable if we are two newlyweds that are trying to find their place in the world. Two strange barely legal adults who live together without their parents nearby? We would stick out like a lion at the North Pole." Veronica blushed slightly, the idea was embarrassing even for her but she knew that in the long haul it will be better.

"You know best..." he admitted smiling at her. "When will we leave?"

"This Saturday morning, my dad is chasing a bail jumper and he's out of town until then."

"That will give us three days... almost."

"Yep. Tonight I'll choose our destination. Do you have any requests?"

"Somewhere not to cold where we can surf?" he tried the puppy dog look again and she gave in again.

"Ok, but we won't go to some famous spot for surfer, it's too predictable. We'll stay on the coast, near the ocean, but maybe an hour inland?" she compromised.

"You have a deal, Mrs Taylor."

"I'll let you know where tomorrow."

"How much money we need?"

"We'll stay out for eleven months..." she closed her eyes and calculate their expenses. "I think around 70,000 dollars, to be sure."

"My credit card is unlimited but after 15,000 dollars they'll put a flag on my withdrawals and they'll notify my _daddy._ "

"Shit..."

"Maybe I can sell something. My car or some jewels?"

"No, if the thing isn't in your name, you can be accused of stealing. Your dad can call the police and even the FBI to track you if he has the right connections,"

She could see Logan was thinking of all the things in his possession and she knew that he found something but wasn't happy.

"I can sell one of my mother's paintings." he smiled but Veronica could tell that he really didn't want to sell them.

"No, don't," she took his hands and smiled at him. "They're important to you."

"Maybe I could ask Dick and Duncan for the 10,000 dollars left. They'll give me 5,000 dollars each without question, I can assure you."

"Perfect."

"Any other instructions, mistress?" he joked.

"Yes, you have to pretend to hate me again, starting tomorrow. That way when we disappear they won't immediately think that we are ran away together. It'll give us more time. On Saturday morning, before lunch, you'll leave your big banana look-a-like car here and we'll walk to the bus stop. We'll take the one to San Diego at ten o'clock. Bring only a backpack with all the things that you can pack in it. We'll buy new clothes when we settle down. If you want to bring some photos you have to hide them in some way. Don't worry; I'll check your backpack. Be here at nine o'clock. That way we'll have time to go back if you forget something important." she could see that he was a little overwhelmed by the details that she had given him.

Logan stood up.

"Thank you, V."

"For what?"

"Being the best friend in the whole world," she blushed at his compliment. "Ok, take me to school, _Victoria,_ or our friends will be suspicious of our absence." he said, Veronica could tell that he was trying very hard to not laugh at the unusual name.

"Yes, _London._ " she used his new name and admit to herself that it was a little strange. "Okay, I think I'll stick with Lolo." she giggled, knowing that Logan didn't like the nickname.

They walked toward the LeBaron and in just a few minutes they're back to Neptune High in time for the last class of the day.

 

That evening, Veronica used her MacBook to find out the best town for their needs. Not too big, maybe under 3,000 people.

She found three town. The best one was St. Matthews, South Carolina. It was just a little over an hour from the beaches, for Logan's sake, and it had many opportunities for underpaid part-time jobs. The easiest and least controlled ones.

She took some information on the other two cities, they could need them in the future if something go wrongs.

 

Thursday morning Veronica let Logan know of their destination and she asked him to use the computer in his journalism's class to do some research if he wanted to see the little town.

Logan was happy with her choice. It was a little city but not so little that everyone know everyone else. And it was inland, near a park and a lake no less, but only an hour from some beautiful beaches.

During the whole day they gave each other the cold shoulder and if they found themselves in the halls they played their parts in the most hateful way. Logan thought, it was a little fun. They knew that it was a scam so it was like an internal joke that only them could understand.

Veronica even punked him and Logan got his revenge by slashing her tires for old time sakes.

Later on Veronica found out about her car, she was furious but, when she took out her phone to call Weevil, she found a SMS.

_**From** _ _Logan_

_**To** _ _Veronica_

_Look under your seat._

She did and found some money for new tires. Still smiling, she called Weevil.

Veronica asked Eli to leave her at his dad's office and to bring the car there when he is done installing the new tires. She worked hard that afternoon, using her dad machines, to produce the best fake IDs of her career.

When Weevil brought back the LeBaron, Veronica had four new set of identity for her and Logan, one from the South Carolina, one from Florida, one from Washington, one from Iowa, two marriage certificates on two pairs of identities and two ID cards without photos.

Proud of herself she went back home and ordered from Luigi's. She was eating when her phone buzzed.

_**From** _ _Logan_

_**To** _ _Veronica_

_DK and Dick gave me my presents._

Veronica laughed a little at his attempt at subtleties but answered him.

_**From** _ _Veronica_

_**To** _ _Logan_

_Happy for you, jackass._

After a fast shower she started to prepare her backpack.

In her room she could see over seventeen years of memories. She wasn't sure what to take away with her for the next eleven months. With a sigh, she started with the basics. Five pairs of underwears, two changes and a jacket. After, she packed her MacBook, the IDs, the marriage certificates, brush, toothbrush, soap, deodorant and a pair of PJs. In the space left she packed her taser, the pepper spray, a camera, her ipod, some jewelries and some photos hidden in a book, on the inside of the cover.

She laid on her bed and wrote to Logan.

_**From** _ _Veronica_

_**To** _ _Logan_

_I packed. U? 2Moro, BR, meet U there?_

He answered almost instantly.

_**From** _ _Logan_

_**To** _ _Veronica_

_Me 2. C U b4 class._

_Goodnight. Xo_

She smiled a little and answered shortly after.

_**From** _ _Veronica_

_**To** _ _Logan_

U 2.

Veronica went under the covers and closed her eyes.

 

On Friday morning Logan woke up with a smile on his face. Only one more day before the departure.

After he arrived at school he met Veronica in the bathroom as she had asked him the night before.

She used her "out of order" sign and put the door lock in place.

"What?" he asked after she was done

"I need a favor."

"Shoot."

"Can you go to the next town and buy some untraceable phones?" she tilted her head.

"How many?"

"Four?"

"No problem. Any other requests?"

"Nope. We're done," smiling she removed the door lock and the sign. "All clear," she whispered. "Go now, I'll follow you in five minutes."

"Bye, Vi..." he joked while leaving.

He went to his first class and tried to pay attention but the excitement of the imminent departure continued to distract him.

At lunch both teens tried to say their goodbyes to their friends without letting them know it. It wasn't easy.

After she went home, Veronica cried for a while. She was sad she couldn't see her dad for the last time, but if he would be here when they leave, he would have known and foiled their plans.

Instead, she wrote a letter so before going to bed, trying not to cry too much on it.

 

Saturday morning came and Logan and Veronica found themselves at Dog Beach, ready to leave.

She checked his backpack and praised him for the good work.

"Ok, we have a little time left," she said, watching her watch. "When we arrive in San Diego, we will buy tickets for Las Vegas using these new identities," she said, showing him the IDs of George and Betty. "We won't go all the way to Vegas. We'll get off in an interchange and use the IDs of Harry and Nichole to buy a ticket to Albuquerque. We'll get off at an another interchange and then we'll split,"

"What?" he was baffled.

"If we split, it will be harder for dad to track us, Logan," she took his hands in hers trying to calm him down. "With a third set of identities, I'll go to Colorado Spring, Topeka and Jefferson City. After, I'll use Betty's ID again, then go to Knoxville, where I'll get off at an interchange and buy a ticket for Columbia. After, I'll buy a car with Victoria's ID and I'll drive to St. Matthews.

You'll go to Midland, Baton Rouge and Montgomery. Then, you'll use Harry again, buy a train ticket to Charleston and I'll pick you up. You understand?"

"Midland, Baton Rouge, Montgomery, I'll change ID and I'll go to Charleston with the train," he repeated to let her know that he will remember.

"Ok, another precaution. When we change IDs for the last time, we'll buy with them a last ticket for Richmond. A little scam."

"Ok, any other instruction?"

"Only one. You must stay a night in Montgomery. You'll stay in a motel, let your beard grow so it will be harder to spot you and cut your hair. Use Nathan's identities for the motel," she smiled at him knowing that cutting his hair was an huge sacrifice to ask him.

"Ok, I'm ready."

"It's time to go..." Veronica smiled at him. "Give me your phone," he gave it to her and she left it with hers in a bag in the trunk of Logan's car.

The duo walked toward the bus stop and their future.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> A.N. Words 2097
> 
> Pleaseeeee leave a review.  
> SPOILER... In the next chapter... Keith will find out of Veronica escape and we'll see the travel...


	4. Tears of pain, tears of joy

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Okay, here is the new chapter! Thank you to my beautiful and patient BETA, shipallllltheships, that tried to correct my mistakes. If you find some they're mine.

**4\. Tear of pain, tears of joy**  
  
 _Dear Daddy,_  
 _I'm sorry but I need to go away for a while. It's not your fault, you are the best daddy in the whole world, but I need some time away from Neptune._  
 _I promise you that I'll be back soon but please don't try to find me. I'll be careful, I've got Mr. Sparky with me so don't worry too much._  
 _I sent another letter with a better explanation but by the time you get it, I'll be far away._  
 _I love you so much Daddy._  
 _Please tell Mac and Wallace that I love them but I need some time away and that I'll explain everything when I get back._  
 _Love_  
 _Veronica_  
 _P.S. I found mom a few days ago. She is in rehab. I don't know if I'll be back when she gets out... If she gets out._  
 _P.P.S Backup is with Wallace, don't worry._  
  
Keith was furious.  
He come home at six o'clock and found out an empty home. At first when he saw the note on the counter he thought that Veronica was just out with Backup.  
But she had run away.  
Keith got his phone and called Alicia.  
“Hi Keith," she answered sweetly.  
“Alicia, please, tell me that Veronica is there with Wallace," he said hopelessly.  
“No, she dropped Backup off this morning. She said that she had a case and needed help with him for the day..."   
“Oh God..." Keith crumbled to the floor and started to cry.

* * *

  
“Keith? What's happening?” Alicia could hear him sobbing. “Keith!” The woman looked at her sons. “Wallace, I need to go to Keith's apartment. Look after Darryl," she said while pulling on her jacket. “I don't know what's happening, Keith, but I’m coming!” she said closing her phone.  
After ten horrible minutes of driving she arrived at the front door of Keith's apartment.   
Alicia entered and found Keith on his knees on the floor, a note in his hands and tears on his cheeks.  
“Keith..."  
“She isn't here..." he whispered, showing her the letter.  
Alicia read it.  
“Oh Keith, I'm so sorry..." she hugged him and let him cry on her shoulder.  
“She went away... my little girl..."   
  
  
Logan and Veronica were in the back of a bus on their way to Albuquerque. There weren't many people on the bus that evening, but Veronica had tried to disguise Logan using what little they had anyway. He wore a hoodie, trying to hide his features.   
“I programmed my number onto this," she said giving him one of the untraceable phones. “You can use it to call me or text me if something goes wrong during your travel. If someone recognizes you on the buses or on the street you must go away, change your ID and travel plan and send me a text  that says you ate some crabs but you'll be good, if you can get away without problem or that you ate some crabs and it's bad if you're followed."  
“Ok."  
“I'll use the same phrases if they spot me. But here is the difference. If they find me I'll send you that my daddy bought me a pony. After that I'll get rid of the phone and you'll do the same with yours. If they find you, it's pointless for me to stay away, but if they find me you should stay away."  
“What? No!”   
“Your dad might kill you. Promise me you'll stay away. I won't say a thing and when you'll be back you'll buy me everything I want for the rest of my life," she smiled.  
“Ve..." she glared at him. “Betty..."  
“Promise, George," she wasn't going to back down and Logan knew it.  
“Ok, I promise."   
“Good. We have almost five hours before we get to Albuquerque. Wanna play poker?”  
“Ok."  
  


* * *

  
Keith, after crying with Alicia for some time, spent the rest of the day and the night trying to find Veronica. But she had done a good job.   
She was seen on a bus to San Diego but after that she had left no traces. He knew that she must have used a fake ID, but he had no other clue.  
He had talked to Wallace and Mac, trying to find out some information but they, like him, were clueless.  
Alicia found him asleep on Sunday morning on the counter in her kitchen with the phone in his hand.  
  
  
Logan said his goodbye to Veronica at the bus stop in Albuquerque, She was crying.  
“See you soon," Veronica whispered before heading toward the terminal for the bus to Colorado Springs.   
Logan watched her get on the bus before he walked toward his for Midland.  
  


* * *

  
After five long hours of travel, Veronica changed buses and took one headed for Topeka. She had lunch in the bus station while she waited for her bus to leave.   
  


* * *

  
While Veronica was having lunch, Logan was arriving in Midland. His new bus for Baton Rouge would leave in an hour and half. He wore a hat and some sunglasses. His two day old beard helped him to blend in with the other people. He would stop in Baton Rouge for the night.  
  


* * *

  
Keith couldn't find one clue on the whereabouts of his daughter. If Alicia didn't remind him to eat, drink and sleep he would have forgotten altogether. He called the sheriff's department first thing in the morning. Lamb posted a MPR and forwarded it to all the bus stops and train stations in California and the nearby states but they still hadn't heard nothing.  
  


* * *

  
Veronica woke up very early on Monday and took the first bus to Knoxville. The ride was fourteen hours long. She arrived at a quarter to nine and was dead tired.  
  


* * *

  
Logan arrived in Montgomery at three o'clock. He found a motel and booked a room for the night. He was happy because Veronica hadn't written to him in the past few days so they'd meet in a little more than twenty-four hours.  
  


* * *

  
After three days, Aaron Echolls found out that his son was gone and he reported him missing.  
  


* * *

  
Keith received a call from Lamb on Tuesday morning. A second teen, Logan Echolls, ha also run away.   
He knew that they were together; he could feel it in his bones. Traveling with a celebrity would make it easier to spot them. But until someone recognized one or both of them he couldn't do anything.  
  


* * *

  
Meanwhile Veronica took the last bus to Columbia with her third ID. She lost two hours trying to find a car. Now there were only two hours between her and Logan. When she arrived at Charleston, she received a text. Logan was nearby. She waited for an hour in the uncomfortable chairs at the Amtrak Station but in the end, Logan arrived.  
She ran toward him and hugged him. They cried, but this time, they were tears of joy.  
They were free.  
  



	5. Living Conditions

**5\. Living conditions**

 

It was Wednesday morning when the package arrived in the mail. Keith found it and tore it open.

There were three letters inside. One for him, one for Mac and Wallace and one for Dick Casablancas.

Keith ignored the other two and started to read his.

 

_Hi Daddy,_

_I think that when this arrives you'll know already that I'm not alone in my escape._

_Logan is with me._

_I know what you're thinking. You think that you can't trust that spoiled, rich kid, that now you have more reasons to try to find us, that he probably kidnapped me._

_The truth is that we simply ran away together, dad._

_I know that in the past year we hated each other, but we were coping with Lilly's death. We made some bloody wrong calls and we hurt each other with words but you need to know that he never hurt me with our secrets, with the things that would have really killed me._

_We were enemies but we respected our secrets._

_I can't say why we ran, dad. I promised him I won't and I can't break that promise. To much people didn't maintain theirs with him. I won't hurt him that way._

_But I wanted you to know that I didn't runaway only for him._

_We're broken. In the past years, we went through some horrible shit and in these last weeks the hurt was too much. If we stayed there, we would have gone crazy. We were already broken to start with, more pains and hurt would have killed us. So we ran away._

_But not forever dad, we'll be back soon. Give us some months, to heal, to be free from the hurt in Neptune._

_I won't stop you if you want to find us, but I'm asking you to not let other people know where we'll be, don't force us to come back home._

_We need some time to heal, dad. When we come back, maybe I'll be healed enough to talk to you of the reasons why I was so broken, maybe Logan will want to talk with you too._

_We'll be careful, dad. Logan will protect me and will take care of me like I'll do for him._

_In these three days in which we prepared ourselves for the escape, we have found a way back to our friendship. So don't worry._

_I promise that we'll be home before my eighteenth birthday. I want my pony._

 

_Love,_

_Veronica_

 

_P.s. Don't worry for school and all that. Logan promised that he'll persuade Clemmons to let us return as home schooled kids. We'll do some test and we'll be okay . We'll study during our little vacation. And please, give Mac, Wallace, and Dick their letter, read them if you want but I'll warn you, you won't find a clue._

 

After reading the letter, Keith didn't know what to think.

He took his keys, closed the apartment door and went back to Alicia's house. He knocked at the door and Wallace opened it.

“I'm late to school, but if you have something on Veronica I'll skip," he said looking at the ex-sheriff's hands.

“If Alicia is ok with it, I think that will be a good idea."

“Of course," the woman said.

“Good," Keith replied emotionless. “Can you call Mac and Dick Casablancas?”

Wallace frowned but made the calls.

After twenty minutes, there were three teenagers and two adults in Alicia's lounge.

“This morning I found these letters in my box. There was one for you," he said, giving Mac and Wallace their letter. “And one for you," he gave the second one to a surprised Dick. “I'm asking you to read them out loud."

“Dear Mac and Wallace," Mac started to read. “I'm sorry, I need to go away for a little while. I hope you know that this isn't in any way, shape or form, your fault. You're the bests friends I could ever have but in the last week I found out something major and my world turned upside down again. I can't stay here and face it like I always do because this is to much too face. I need time to heal, and a promise that I made to one of my best friend, something like four years ago, will help me. So please don't be too angry with me when we'll come back. If I can, I'll explain but I can't promise that I'll do it. Love you so much. Veronica”

It was short but the two teens were crying at the end. They could feel the hurt in the words of their friend. They were angry but after reading the letter they understood that maybe they didn't know enough to judge her.

“Hey, dude," started Dick after Mac was done. “Veronica said that I could write something to let you know that I'm not dead. So, here I am. I'm not dead, dude. I'll pay you back for the money you lent me, don't worry. We are not women who talk about their feeling while they are braiding their hair but I want you to know that I'll miss you, dude. Don't do anything stupid while I'm away and don't be angry with Ronnie. I needed this, like her, maybe more. Logan. P.s. Please, don't spread the word that this is a romantic getaway, I want all my parts to stay in theirs pristine condition when I'll face Keith Mars and his shotgun. And if you're reading this, Mr. Mars, this is not a romantic getaway. I'll take care of Ronnie. I promise," Dick was laughing in the end, like Mac and Wallace.

Keith simply shook his head, surprised that the boy could make him smile a little with a letter.

“Like I would have thought of that. They're like cats and dogs," said Dick. “They always banter, even when they were friends," Mac giggled and Dick smiled.

“After reading that, did you remember something?” asked Keith. “Maybe a motive for their escape?”

“No Sir," said Dick. “Logan was... Logan. Yeah, it was a little strange in the last weeks but his mom is dead. I thought that was it."

“After Logan's mom's suicide they started to become friends. They stopped to say painful truths during their banter, they only bantered about silly things," said Mac.

“Yeah, man, it was strange. I thought that after the headlights bashing incident they'll never speak..." Keith glared at Wallace. The kid went pale noticing that he said to much.

“Headlights bashing?” asked Keith with a 'don't tell me bullshit' tone.

“Yeah... It was at the start of the year. She was helping me with something and had planted a bong in his locker. He was angry 'cuz his dad had took away his car and said something about justice and smashed her headlights," he left out the second part hoping that Dick would be smart enough to know to stay in silence.

Keith sighed. That was something that he could imagine Veronica would do.

“Ok, we'll let the past stay in the past," he said trying to comprehend how her daughter and the Echolls kid could go to such extreme. From best friends to honorable enemies to runaway pals. “Nothing that could give us some clue on the whys or the where?” The teens shook their heads. “Then I think you can go to school.”

“Oh, man! I was hoping that I could skip..." said Dick.

Keith laughed and took his keys. “No way. Come on, I'll take you all."

 

 

Logan and Veronica had checked-in in a motel for the past night, but now they were searching for an apartment.

“Ok, this is very cute and I think is perfect for two newlyweds," said the realtor. “It has two bedrooms, one more that the other ones, one bathroom with shower and bath, a kitchen with oven and dishwasher, a sitting room and a closet. The price is 550 dollars per month. If you rent for long periods you probably can ask for a discount," she said opening the door of the condo. “This way," she said taking the stairs. The apartment was on the first floor and there wasn't an elevator.

The realtor opened the door and started to give them the tour of the apartment.

Logan liked this one like he liked the others, there weren't so much difference in his eyes, but when he looked at Veronica he knew that she wanted this.

“We'll take this."

“Are you sure?” asked the realtor with a smile.

“Yes, we'd like to rent it for eleven months, if it's possible," said Logan.

“The seller won't have a problem with an eleven-months rent. They will only ask a minimum of two months' rent and a maximum of two years," the realtor explained happily. “Would you like to call the sellers now? So maybe you can move in tonight?”

“If it's possible. This way we could save on the hotel," Veronica was doing her head tilt and Logan knew that the realtor had no chance to say no to her. Not now.

“I'll do my best, Mrs Taylor," he said starting the call.

“You are evil, Vi..." Logan was amused. “The head tilt? Was that really necessary?”

“I wanna move now," she was pouting. “I like this much more than the hotel. It feels like home,"

“Good news, Mr. Taylor, the sellers were out for some purchase and can come here in half an hour for the contract. That will give you time to check-out and come here with your things”

“Perfect. We'll go now and be back in twenty," Logan took Veronica's hand and exited from the condo. “Happy?” he asked when they were in the car.

“Strange to say, but yes, I'm happy."

In the past days he noticed that Veronica's smiles now reach her ears. She seemed truly happy and Logan liked it. She was very beautiful when she smiled.

Later on, they closed the door of their new apartment, after negotiating with the sellers and the realtor. They had discussed on some details for a while and signed the contract for eleven months' wort of rent. The had paid everything upfront and their funds were lighter by 5950 dollars.

“We'll need some things for the apartment, like a TV, WiFi, some new dishes and cutlery, towels, shades, and things like that.” Veronica said smiling.

Logan could see the happiness reflected in her blue eyes.

“Who would have thought that the badass PI, Veronica Mars, would have liked playing home so much ,” he said as he put their backpacks on the table.

“Fun, fun, fun.”

“Veronica, admit it, this little vacation is bringing out the girly girl in you...” he teased some more.

“Yeah, _hubby_ , you're right,” she said with a sugary sweet tone. “I'm a girly girl at heart.”

Logan couldn't resist and started to laugh loudly. Veronica rolled her eyes and punched him lightly on the arm.

“Stop it, jackass!”

“I'm hurt, _wifey,_ ” he placed his and on his heart and pouted. “You're really breaking my heart.”

“Really? Poor, little boy... wanna kiss it better?” she asked with a smirk.

Logan didn't know if she was serious but he wouldn't back down.

“Pretty please...” he said, nodding.

Veronica rolled her eyes but kissed him on the cheek.

“Now that we have established who wear the pants in this house...”

“Hey!” he interrupted her with mock resentment.

“We must talk about some basic rules,” she continued without taking in account his exclamation. Logan groaned. “Down boy... we'll need them.”

“But wifey....”

“First rule. We're married so no other women,” Logan rolled his eyes. He wasn't stupid and, even if the eleven months without someone who would take care of his needs would be hard, he could do it to stay away from his dad. “We must be faithful, affairs can attract too much attention.”

“Yeah, I know Veronica. I'm a jackass, not an idiot,” he smirked at her. “And if I have an itch to scratch I'm sure that I can take care of it by myself.”

“Gross, Logan,” she blushed while Logan started snickering.

“You have any more rules?”

“Yes, for starter, I'll take the master bedroom and you the guest room but you'll leave all your clothes in my room.”

“Why?” he was confused.

“Because if someone comes in and sees that all your clothes aren't in my room, it will be suspicious. But if you have almost all of them in my room we could say that you misbehaved and I expelled you from our bed for a night.”

Logan could admit that she was wicked smart.

“But I thought that social life was a no-no.”

“Too much social life is negative but no social life is too,” she explained sitting on the couch. Logan sat beside her. “Sometimes PIs keep an eye on people with too little social life. My dad does it. If he finds someone who has no life outside the house, he does some background checks. Sometimes he finds nothing, but sometimes he finds out that they're actually bail jumpers or they're sought for minor crimes.”

“Wow.”

“So we'll go out sometimes, make casual friends and talk with our neighbors.”

“So, this means that we'll have to learn to stand in each other space, hug, kiss?” he smirked and lifted an eyebrow.

“Yeah...” she said embarrassed. “But no funny tricks, mister! Or one morning you'll wake up without something very important to you...” it was her turn to smirk.

“No worry, Mars. I believe you,” he was a little scared because he knew that she wasn't joking. “That's all?”

“No. One last rule. You clean for yourself, Logan. I'm not your maid.”

Logan groaned. He wasn't a messy person, but for all his life he had had someone that would clean for him. It would be difficult to get used to the new situation.

“Now that we have established the rules, what would you think of doing some house shopping?”

“Yeah, 'cause us men love to shop.”

“Do I need to do my head tilt, _hubby?_ ” Logan groaned again and stood up. “I knew that you would see it my way.”

 

  
  



	6. First signs

**6\. First signs**

 

A week later Logan and Veronica's escape, everyone in school knew that they ran away together and Neptune High was going crazy about this. The gossip was that they went away because they were in love and couldn't get together with Duncan near.

“I'm sure the slut is knocked up and forced poor Logan to marry her,” Madison said as a matter-of-fact while Mac and Wallace passed by her on Monday morning. Mac couldn't understand if she was simply stupid or maybe she wanted to provoke them.

“Yeah, someone was saying that Veronica gave it to Logan for money...” said Carrie giggling. That was simply, ridiculous; Veronica and Logan hated each other for the best part of the last two years.

“Yeah, I knew that their meetings in the bathroom were suspicious.”

“Oh, come on!” Mac rolled her eyes and turned towards the trio. She couldn't stand it anymore. “Veronica is not pregnant and theirs is not a romantic getaway!”

“I know.” said Madison leaving Wallace and Mac confused. “I didn't talk about romance. Probably Veronica blackmailed him. That slut...”

“Shut up, girl!” Wallace stepped up for his friend. “Veronica's no slut.”

“She's not the one that sleeps around, Maddy.” said Mac with a sugary sweet tone.

Madison closed her locker and went away.

“Good work, MacKenzie.” Wallace was grinning. “I didn't know that there was a wolf behind your nerd facade.”

Through the day they continued to defend Veronica's honor and they weren't the only ones. Meg Manning, Weevil and other people that she had helped during the past year, aided them.

The 09ers were troubled. They didn't know what to do without their king and didn't even know what to think of his alleged romantic getaway with the most hated outcast, Veronica Mars.

Neptune High was going crazy.

 

 

Veronica and Logan were in their apartment watching a rerun of the Lord of the Rings trilogy.

They had spent the past three days doing some serious shopping for all the necessities for their home. It was a tiring but funny experience.

They had even found part time jobs, Veronica in a little cafe and Logan in a surf shop in Charleston. Their schedules were perfect. They would work only the morning for five hours from Monday to Friday.

“How are you feeling?” asked Veronica during a spot break.

“Generally or in this moment?”

“Tomorrow will be your first day ever at work...” she smirked evilly. “Think you'll survive?”

“Funny,” he deadpanned.

Veronica was about to mock him some more but, with the corner of her eye, she noticed that he was really nervous.

“You'll be okay, Logan,” she took one of his hands in hers and squeezed it, smiling. “You love everything about surfing, you'll love the job.”

Logan smiled and she could tell that what she said really helped him.

“Want to learn?”

“What? Surfing?”

“Yes.”

“I'll be no good.” she warned seriously.

“I'll be patient, and I'm sure that after you'll have tried it, you'll love it.” he was smiling and Veronica found herself answering it. “You could take something to eat from the cafe, come to the shop and we could eat together. And after, we could go to the beach. Bobby said that I can rent the surfboards with a 50% discount.” he was glowing at the thought.

“I think that you have a deal, Mister.”

 

 

“I suck!”

“No, you don't, V,” Logan was trying really hard not to laugh at her umpteenth fall in the water. “It's your first time, Ronnie, you supposed to suck.”

Veronica grabbed the surfboard and with a little help from Logan sat on it again.

“You're really good for a newbie. You can't expect to stand up and be good on your very first time”

“You think I'm good?” she asked smiling proudly.

“The best Luke for my Yoda...” Veronica rolled her eyes at his references. “Don't give me that look, missy. I know that you like those films.”

Veronica couldn't say no. She really liked Star Wars, the first three films more than the last two, even if Anakin Skywalker's actor had a certain charm.

Logan had coerced her to see the entire series on the last Saturday because he wanted her to go with him when the new and last one will come out on the 17th of may.

“Okay, I, maybe, liked it... but you are no Yoda.”

“I know, I'm Anakin,” Logan said smiling. “Charming, handsome...”

“Evil?” she teased.

“I prefer to call myself naughty,” he said trying to appear serious.

“Naughty?” she raised her eyebrow.

“If you want, I can show you how naughty I can be, wifey.” he paddled near her and tried to grab her around her waist.

“Logan!” she swatted his hand away and laughed.

“You know, we have this beautiful piece of paper that say that showing you my naughtiness is totally in the realm of my rights.” he said nodding with mock seriousness.

“Yeah, Lolo. Keep dreaming.” they laughed.

“I'll do it. How can I not with you in that thing...” he said looking her up. She blushed furiously.

“Stop it.” she gave him a little push.

“I can't.” he put his hands on his heart. “You, wife of mine, are sinfully beautiful.”

Veronica couldn't understand if he was serious or not. She wasn't stupid, she knew she had a beautiful body, she knew that she could attract the eyes of the boys around her if she wanted. But she was still amazed by Logan's compliment.

“Thanks”

“Now stop distracting me with your girly parts and try to not fall of the surfboard with the next wave,” he pointed the wave in question to her and Veronica prepared herself.

 

 

Veronica liked her first lesson of surf so much that she asked Logan to keep teaching her.

They went again on Wednesday and Friday, starting a routine for them.

On weekday mornings, they worked hard but they always were together at lunchtime, and in the afternoons, they surfed, went to see a movie, went around exploring Charleston and St. Matthews, or simply remained in the house to pass a lazy afternoon.

On weekend mornings, they went to the beach, to sunbath and surf, and in the evenings, they tried some of the local pubs and discos.

They had fun and were making some casual friends here and there. They were living happily for the first time in months, maybe years.

 

 

“Honey, I'm home!” Logan walked in and put down the shopping bags. It was Friday of their third week in St. Matthews and it was his turn to go out to the market.

“Hey, snookums.”

“That was your nick...” replied him glaring at her.

“Pookie?”

“I take that back, I'll be snookums for you, sugarpuss,” he smirked and gave her a kiss on the forehead.

In the past days they had worked on their PDA. Now that they had some friends, it would be strange if they had been uncomfortable with touching and kissing each other. The flirting had come like a second nature to them but holding hands when they go out or kissing their hellos and goodbyes had been a little awkward at first.

“The Jeffersons invited us to dinner,” Veronica said giving him an hug.

“The Jeffersons as in the other family that lives on this floor?”

“Yep,” she dragged him on the sofa. “So we need to revise our story.”

“We have known each other since we're twelve, we were friends at first, then enemies, then lovers,” he smirked at her. “How could we not? You're smoking hot and I'm a very naughty boy...”

“Go on lover boy...” Veronica smirked and gave him a little punch.

“Our parents weren't ok with our love,” he said with fake sadness. “So when we turned eighteen, we went away with our savings and some money that your runaway mom left you and we got married.” he gave her a little kiss on the cheek and smiled. “We decided to stay away from home for our first year and chose to pass it here, in the east coast. We'll go back home after and we'll go to university.”

“Good, you're almost better than me.” she was a little proud.

“No prizes?” he made a kissy face making her laugh.

“You're ready, padawan...”

“And I was bad with the Star Wars quotes?” Veronica grinned.

“What can I say? You made the bed, now you must sleep in it.”

“I created a monster,” he faked a horrified look. “How much time do we have before dinner?”

“Two hours,” she said after watching the clock. “But don't worry, I already had a shower so you'll have enough time to style your hair.” she giggled.

“You think that you're so funny, missy.” he grabbed her and started a tickle war.

“Stop, Logan!” she tried to escape but Logan had her wrists bound to the couch with one hand while he tickled her with the other.

“Ask for my forgiveness and maybe I'll stop.”

“Okay, you win! I'm sorry!” he stopped and released her.

Veronica looked at him as he went in the bathroom and smiled. Logan had let his hairs grow, they now were a little curled and they were back to their original color, the streaks had disappeared.

He had let his beard grow a little and he styled it almost every morning. If you looked with attention maybe you could recognize him as Logan Echolls, but with his new baggy clothes, his behavior and his new lifestyle no one had thought of it. He was London Taylor, husband of one Victoria Lee, who liked to surf with his beautiful wife and liked to live with simplicity.

Away from his dad, the 09er crowd and his fame the real him came out and Veronica had found out that she liked to have him in her life. She liked him.

 

 

The evening with the Jeffersons had gone smoothly and Veronica and Logan had fun. Their neighbors had only seven years over their real age.

Logan admired them. They were in love and lived happily together. No fake impressions, no need to act. It was strange for him. In all his life he had never really seen a couple so in love. He was a little envious too.

He had tried to have something like that with Lilly but she wasn't ready. He had envied Veronica and Duncan in the past, their trust in each other and their love.

He couldn't understand how Duncan could do something so horrible at Shelly's party. Maybe it wasn't an actual rape if he was to believe him, but leaving her there the morning after? Ignoring her for months instead of telling her the truth?

When he was thirteen, after he had told Veronica of his father's abuses he had had a crush on her. How he couldn't? She was cute, smart, funny and she knew the truth but had understood and had liked him anyway.

He had wanted to ask her out, but during the time that he was trying to man up, Duncan had beaten him on it. For sometime, he had thought to ask her out anyway, to let her decide, but again, fate didn't seem to like his idea. His dad had beaten him up again and he had needed to go to the hospital. He had been _out of town_ for over three weeks, and Veronica, always the little PI, knew the truth. When he had come home, she had wanted to talk to him, she had let him cry on her shoulder and he had understood that she was too much for the likes of him.

His dad had always told him that no one could love him because he was broken, damaged material, and that day, crying on her shoulder, he had believed him. He had thought that his dad had been right, that time, that he didn't deserve a girl like her but, above all else, he had understood that she didn't need someone like him beside her. Duncan was the better man. He was sweet, smart and had a good family.

Maybe he had been wrong but he didn't know it at the time. He had let her go and Lilly had come in his life. She was so full of life and so fucked up, just like him. They had started to date and in a little time he had started to fall in love with her.

He had known that their relationship wasn't really healthy but he loved her.

Logan looked up, Veronica was coming out from the bathroom in her skimpy shorts and t-shirt. She wasn't helping.

He already knew that she was beautiful, she always was, but now he could see it everyday.

After Lilly's death, he had needed a scapegoat for his anger and in his blinding pain, he had decided that Veronica was that person. She had told Lilly about Yolanda, if she hadn't said it, he would have been with her that day.

But now he knew better, he knew that she wasn't at fault. The only one to blame was Lilly's killer, no one else. She only had done what every other daughter that loved her dad would do. Stand by the family.

“Ronnie,” Veronica looked at him. “I'm sorry...”

“For what, Logan?”

“For being an asshole for all of last year,” he couldn't look her in the eyes.

“Hey, it's all forgiven, Lolo,” Logan stared at her. He was trying to find out if she was lying or not. “I haven't forgetten what you did, but I can forgive you and give you another chance. Don't waste it,” she smiled at him and entered in her room.

He went in his room, stripped to his boxer and laid on his bed.

Logan closed his eyes and smiled. She was a remarkable woman.

He was so screwed.

 

 

Keith looked at the calendar. It was exactly three weeks since her little girl ran away with Logan. In all this time he hadn't found a clue on where the hell they were.

After they had left San Diego they had taken a bus to Vegas but they hadn't arrived at destination, and after that they had disappeared. No one could remember two teens on bus or train and no one had sold a car, legally or not, to them.

Keith had refused to work with the PIs that Aaron had employed or with Lamb. The Missing Person Report had spread to all the U.S.A. but, so far, no one had reported anything.

Keith yawned. He was tired from all the nights that he stayed up.

"What are you doin'?" Wallace came in the room, it was Sunday.

"It doesn't matter what I do, they did a very good job, so I want to find out why they ran away."

"Why?" Wallace was a little confused. In the past month, he had helped Mr. Mars, he wanted his BFF back.

"If we'll find out why they needed to go away, we could try to resolve the situation so they can come back," He explained with a little smile. "Think you can help me?"

"I can try."

"Good. So, when did Veronica start to act strangely?" Keith took out a notebook and a pen to take notes.

"On Wednesday,"

"Can you be more precise?"

"She was ok at lunch and I didn't see her till the last hour. So after lunch?" Keith wrote that down.

"What classes did she have after lunch?"

"Journalism and chemistry, then math with me."

Keith looked up at the clock. It was Sunday but he knew that the Neptune High's secretariat was open from 11 to 5 p.m.

He called and asked if Veronica had skipped some classes on the Wednesday in question and they said that she had skipped the fifth and sixth periods. He thanked them and put down the phone.

"He skipped both journalism and chemistry. So the problem appeared after lunch but before journalism. Do you remember where she went after lunch? Did she say something?"

"No, she only said that she wanted to go early in class 'cuz she wanted to use a PC for a case," Wallace thought hard, trying to remember something strange but he couldn't find anything.

"Then something happened in the class before the lesson. Do you know who went there that day?"

"Dunno. I know that Logan and Duncan frequented it. If you want I can try to ask some questions..."

"Good idea," Keith closed his eyes for a second trying to lessen the pain that he could felt building up behind them."Tomorrow after school you'll report and we'll go on from there."

 

 

“Hey, man,” Wallace walked towards Duncan and Meg.

“Hey.” Wallace internally rolled his eyes, DK didn't remember his name.

“Wanna ask ya some question, mate.”

“It's to find where Veronica is?”

“Yeah.”

“Go on...” Duncan kissed goodbye to his girlfriend.

“Me and Mr. Mars are tryin' to find out what happened that Wednesday. She had journalism but the school said that she skipped it, ain't that right?”

“Yeah, it's true, I thought that was strange that both Logan and Veronica weren't there.” admitted Duncan.

“V left the quad early, did ya see her before class, man?”

“No and it's strange because I was there for all the lunch time.”

Wallace frowned. “Ya're sure? All the time?”

“Oh, wait,” he interrupted. “I was called by Clemmons, but I had stayed away for, like, ten minutes.”

“And when ya went back?”

“She wasn't there and there wasn't anyone else,” he said shaking his head.

“Ya know the case she was workin' on?” Wallace asked sighing.

“No, she didn't talk about her cases with me.”

“Oh, man... Can you think of somethin' at all that could make her bolt away? She skipped classes, but was okay at lunch. Something happened before journalism?”

“No, I can't think of anything,” Duncan answered fast. “I must go, I can't be late.” he said with a little smile. “See you!”

Wallace looked him leave the hall towards his next class. He was no Veronica Mars but even he could tell that Duncan Kane had had an epiphany about something, but he lied and Wallace knew that now DK wouldn't talk.

 

 

 


	7. First times

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> In this chapter I used some parts of the episode “Hot Dogs”. Some of you could think: Hey, wait, that was the episode in which the Lynn's will was read so how the hell Logan knew about the fact that his mom left him all her possessions? I answer saying that looking at Logan's reaction, while Barry reads the will, I think that he already knew. So in this fic, Lynn told him that she had changed her will some weeks before her death.

**7\. First times**

 

Veronica was thinking about Logan. He had been strange all the past week.

After the dinner with the Jeffersons, he had started to shut off. He had spoken with her, he had smiled, but they had grown apart when they're at home and she was sad about it.

She had liked the new Logan and wanted him back.

“Hey, sleepyhead!” she exclaimed, entering his bed room. Logan was sprawled on his bed, the sheets were pooled at his hips leaving all his upper body exposed to her eyes.

He was hot with his rumpled hairs, the perfect pecs, the six pack abs to die for and his peaceful air. She shook her head to clear her thoughts.

“Go 'way,” he mumbled, covering his ears with the pillow. Veronica giggled and went near the bed.

“Do I need to take all the covers away to wake you up?”

“No!” Logan sat up and looked at her. “I'm awake.”

“Good boy... be ready in ten minutes.” she said while leaving the room.

Veronica went to the kitchen and began to make a light breakfast. It was Monday and they had planned an entire day to the beach since their bosses had wanted to give them a day of leave.

“You're evil, you know?” Logan yawned and sat himself to the counter. “It's only six thirty!”

“I know, Logan, but you asked me yesterday to wake you up at six thirty... Do you remember?”

“Sadly, I do,” he was pouting and Veronica couldn't stop herself from laughing. “But it's not fair that you have so much energy in the mornin'.”

She shook her head and started to eat. Maybe it was the lack of sleep but that morning she could see the new Logan again.

“Can I ask you something?”

“Ask away.” Logan took the OJ and poured it in a glass.

“Why were you so strange the past week?” Veronica was looking at him and noticed that he had become a little pale after her question.

“It was nothing, memories,” he gave her a little smile. “But I'm over them, now.”

She could tell that he was lying but decided to let it go, for now.

Later on they were on the beach, Logan was at the shop to rent the surfboards and she was putting her sunscreen while waiting.

“Ready?” asked Logan, sticking their surfboards in the sand.

“Almost. Can you do my back?” He nodded and took the cream.

When his hands began to massage the cream on her back, Veronica started to feel hot. Logan had done the same thing million times already, but for some reason today was different. She blushed a little and hoped that he hadn't noticed it.

“All done.” He passed back the sunscreen and turned around to let her do his back too.

Her hands trembled slightly while she applied the cream. She traced with her fingers all the scars, having care to put more sunscreen on them.

“All done,” she made him turn around and smiled at him. “Carry my board?” she asked, doing her head tilt, knowing that he couldn't resist.

Logan took the surfboards and walked beside her toward the ocean.

“There are some good waves today,” he smiled. “We'll see how much you've improved your skills, wifey.”

“Oh, I'll surprise you.” she smirked and took her surfboard.

They were having fun surfing. Veronica was really good at it, and Logan was happy that she was beginning to like it as much as he does.

“You're really good, Ronnie,” he said when they were alone in the ocean.

“You're a very patient teacher, Logan,” She looked down, a little embarrassed by his praises and lost her balance when a wave passed under her board. She fell in the water and Logan started to laugh.

“Hey!” she exclaimed, trying to climb on the surfboard. “It's your fault. You distracted me!”

“Poor Ronnie, she was embarrassed by my praises... you're such a girl!”

“Take that back! I'm a badass!” she gave him a little push trying to send him in the water. Logan lost his balance and fell off, but with his strong grip on her wrist dragged her with him.

They returned to the surface and clung to their surfboards, laughing.

After one last wave, they went back on the beach, tired but happy.

Veronica laid face down on her towel with Logan beside her.

“Need more sunscreen?” he asked, looking at her.

“Maybe a little on the back and the shoulders.”

“Stay down, I'll do it,” he smiled and began to work. He applied the cream and massaged her back and shoulders very thoroughly. When he was done she was truly relaxed.

“You're the best husband ever,” she sat up and gave him a kiss on the cheek, letting it linger a little more than normal.

She had always deemed herself a sincere girl, at least with herself, so she had admitted to feel attracted to Logan long ago. During the last week, she had liked kissing him, touching him, but she had been afraid that he wouldn't return her feelings and so she had tried to restrain her PDA. So, when Logan put his hand on her neck and pushed her mouth on his, she was a little baffled.

She was still for some seconds, surprised by his action but when her mind began to work again she responded at the kiss with passion.

His lips were soft and urgent on hers, he tasted of salt from the sea water. Their mouths moved as one, trying to express feeling that both of them weren't able to said out loud. She could feel him smiling and that made her smile to.

When Logan pulled away she could see a spark in his eyes that had been absent since before Lilly's death. He smirked and kissed her again with more confidence.

She closed her eyes and lost herself in the kiss, it felt like magic, it was right and made her dizzy. Time went still, as their lips touched, she could feel her heart beating hard and fast against her breast bone, the kiss was passionate and yet so innocent.

She pressed herself to him and ran her fingers through his hair while he cradled her face between his hands.

When breathing became an issue they pulled away and he leaned his forehead against hers.

“That was...”

“Fantastic?” he suggested, smiling.

She nodded, his beautiful brown eyes seemed to peer in her soul trying to find some answer.

“Does this mean we're not acting anymore?” Veronica asked, taking his hand in hers and smiling at him with a little hint of embarrassment.

“Yeah...” he looked in her eyes and kissed her briefly.

“You know that we'll need to talk about this?” Veronica laiy with Logan on the towels and rested her head on his chest.

“I imagined.”

She began to caress his chest with her fingers, liking the feel of his skin under her hand. He was warm and solid. With her ear she could feel his heart beating fast in his breast and smiled at him happily.

“I think I really like you,” he mumbled in her ear. She blushed a little and smiled. “I was so nervous, you know? I spent the last week obsessing on how to deal with this...”

“So, that was why you were so distant.”

“Yeah, in the end I decided to simply kiss you and deal with the consequences after,” he smirked and kissed her head.

“I really liked that plan,” she rubbed her cheek on his chest.

“Missy, you'll stop that or we'll have a big problem,” Logan said, laughing a little.

“What?” she exclaimed, sitting up and glaring at him.

“That kiss? Awesome,” he explained. “And you're not helping rubbing yourself on me in that little thing that you call bikini.”

Veronica giggled and lay her head on his chest again.

“Minx.”

 

 

Wallace was thinking about Veronica's case. He and Keith had tried very hard to corner Duncan and to find out why he was reluctant on talking about Wednesday, but he was no PI and Keith couldn't ask him directly.

The bell rang and he was going to the administrative office when he saw a girl putting some flyers on the wall. She didn't notice that someone had stuck one on her back.

He rolled his eyes at the stupidity of some of his classmates and walked towards her.

“Sorry, I think this is yours,” he said smiling while he took off the flyer from her back.

“You're Wallace?”

“Yeah.”

“Veronica is your friend.”

“Yes again.” he said smiling.

“Could you help me find my dog?” she pleaded.

“I dunno, girl. I'm no Veronica and I'm sure ya know that she's not here.”

“Oh... ok, no problem, thank you anyway.”

Wallace was feeling guilty, she looked so sad and lonely.

“Hey girl,” he called her back. “I think I can help ya a little. I could ask Mr. Mars for better flyers and I could help with the doghouse.”

“You would?” she was beaming. “Thank you!”

“See ya after school then. Do you know where Mars Investigations is?”

“Yes, thank you again.”

Happy about his good deed, he went to the secretary's office and started to work.

Clemmons was talking on the phone when he arrived. Weevil was in jail for breaking and entering the Kane estate.

 

 

“Mr. Mars?” Wallace exclaimed while entering the office.

“Yes, Wallace?” Keith answered from his studio.

“I have to ask for a favor.”

“Ask away,” Keith exited from his studio and smiled at Wallace and Mandy.

“Mandy here,” he pointed at the girl in question. “Lost her dog. Could we help her make some flyers?” he tried to replicate Veronica's head tilt and made Keith smile.

“Yes, you can, but stop the head tilt. You are not cute like Veronica. It's only creepy.”

Wallace laughed and started to work on the flyer.

 

That evening, after a useless visit to the doghouse, Wallace was walking Backup for Keith while he worked.

He passed a showcase and with the corner of his eyes saw that there were a lot of flyers about lost dogs.

He thought that it was a little strange so he used his phone to make a photo and went back home.

“Hey, Keith. Wanna ask a question.”

“Go on, Wallace.”

“Ya know that I'm helping Mandy to find her dog,” Keith nodded. “I was walkin' Backup and I found out a strange amount of flyers about lost dogs. Isn't it a little strange?”

“Yes, I think it is. Could you maybe go back and take all the flyers?”

Wallace nodded and no more than twenty minutes later was back with the flyers.

“What do I do now?”

“Try to find out if some of the masters found their dogs.” suggested the PI smiling.

“Yes, Mr. Mars.”

Wallace started the calls and after another twenty-four minutes he had found that four masters out of nine had found their dogs.

“How's it going?” Keith asked awhile later.

“Not bad, I think that someone is kidnappin' dogs and waiting for the reward to go over five hundred dollars before give 'em back to the masters.”

“Very good, Wallace!” the PI seemed proud and Wallace smiled at him. “Now what you'll do is to find out who is behind them.”

“I dunno... maybe I could try to raise Mandy's reward? See if someone will call her and then intercept 'em at the exchange?”

“It's a good plan, but maybe it would be better if you change the reward and the number to call on one of these flyers. The kidnappers could know who Mandy is, they could smell the scam.”

“Thank you Mr. Mars!”

“Call me Keith, son.”

 

 

“Wanna go out tonight?” Logan asked to Veronica when she came to the surf shop with their lunch.

“Like on a date?” she smirked.

“Yeah?” Logan was a little nervous.

“Okay, where will you take me?”

“It's a surprise,” he knew that not knowing where they'll go will make her crazy.

“Pretty please?” she hugged him and kissed his cheek.

“What part of surprise don't you understand?” he laughed.

“The surprise part. I don't like surprise,” she pouted. “Pleeease.”

“I won't say a thing,” he then pretended to close his mouth with a padlock and throw away the key.

“You're no fun as a boyfriend,” she tried to leave the embrace but Logan trapped her in his arms.

“Where do you think you're going, missy?”

“Away from my evil boyfriend?”

“So now I'm evil?” she nodded. “And would an evil boyfriend say that you're beautiful?” she shook her head while smiling. “And would he do this?”

Logan smiled and brought his lips on hers. It was only the third time that he kissed her but he thought that he could already be addicted to her lips. They were soft and warm against his, she was so passionate and shy at the same time. He smiled when she put her hand around his neck trying to deepen the kiss. He let her take control of the kiss, pulled her against him and opened a little his mouth letting her in.

They were totally absorbed in the kiss, air was a second thought, so when a passer by started to make catcalls they were both ashamed to have let the kiss became a little too passionate for a public beach.

“I say it again. You're evil,” she murmured blushing while Logan tried very hard not to laugh.

 

 

After saving Mandy from some bullies, Wallace had received a call from a person that claimed to have found his dog, so he had arranged the exchange during lunch hour. He had brought Backup and Mandy with him and after giving the money the Hispanic man, Backup had attacked the would be dognapper so he could take back the money while faking to help him.

After, they had followed the man to a carpentry and had talked to him and his friends. They said that it wasn't them that kidnapped the dogs but a white boy always brought the dog to them and let them have some of the reward money. When Wallace asked for a description, they said that he was white and drove a van. He didn't really understood very well what they were trying to say, just that there was something about a chick with big boobs and a cowboy.

Before going back to school for the fifth period they brought home Louie, the dog. The master, an old lady, was very grateful.

They were almost late when arrived in the school parking lot.

“Thank you Wallace.” said Mandy, running to class. He smiled and started to walk towards him when he saw something that gave meaning to all the gibberish that the Hispanics had said to him.

Wallace got out of his last class five minutes early and waited to find out who was the owner of the Van. He wasn't surprised to find out that it was Hans, the helper at the doghouse.

 

 

“So what do I need to wear for our first date?” Veronica asked while they were going home that evening.

“Nothing much. Jeans and a sexy top will do,” Logan smirked.

She rolled her eyes knowing that he wouldn't say more.

“You can have everything you want if you tell me where we'll go tonight,” she smiled innocently.

“Won't work, Ronnie.”

She snorted and gave him the silent treatment till they arrived home.

“You're giving me the cold shoulder?” he asked amused.

“Nope.”

“I would have bet that you did,” he took her in his arms and kissed her on the nose. “Go, take a shower, change, and we'll be going.”

She tried very hard not to smile, but she was so giddy that she couldn't control herself.

“Okay, mister, I give up, but don't do it again in the near future,” she started to walk towards the bathroom. “Or my revenge will be awful.”

 

 

“Mr. Mars?”

“Yes Wallace?” answered Keith from somewhere in the house.

“I need a favor.”

Keith appeared in the sitting room smiling.

“You sound just like Veronica, you know?” he laughed a little and sat himself on the couch.

“I think I found out who kidnapped the dogs but I can't really prove it.”

“Who?”

“The workers at the doghouse,” Wallace sat down in front of him, on an armchair. “They kidnap the 09ers's dogs and wait for the reward to go over five hundred dollars.”

“Lamb won't listen to us, but I may know someone who would.” said Keith, taking his phone.

 

 

Logan stopped the car in front of a restaurant in Charleston.

“This is the Luigi of Charleston,” he said pointing at the building. “Bobby said that it is the best Italian place.”

“You know me so well...” she said with a sugary sweet tone.

“I know your stomach well, so I asked the cook to buy more supplies for tonight.” he joked.

She punched him in the arm.

“Jackass.” she was smiling and Logan didn't take it badly.

 

 

With Leo D'Amato, the newest deputy, Wallace and Keith had gone to the doghouse and had searched the whole place finding the kidnapped dogs in a room on the back.

Chester, Mindy's dog, wasn't there. The dognappers had sold him to a family in the 09er zip code.

Wallace, after Hans was arrested, called Mandy and gave her the good news. She was really happy.

“You liked it,” Keith smirked at the teen.

“Yeah, maybe...”

“Would you like to do it again?”

“What?”

“You know, you could take Veronica's job until she comes back, I promise that I pay better that the Sac-N-Pac.”

“Are you serious, Mr. Mars?” Wallace was smiling happily, the Sac-N-Pac job was awful on good days. A better paying job, even for only the summer would be a blessing.

“Yeah, Wallace. I'll need the help with the stakeouts and the office work.”

“Hell yeah then!”

“Language, Wallace...”

 

 

After the fabulous dinner, Logan took Veronica to the Drive In.

Naturally, they didn't see much of the film, something like ten minutes after the first scene they were making out.

“Maybe we could go in the backseat?” Veronica leaned her head on his and smiled while trying to breathe normally. Logan pulled away and raised his eyebrow. “Only for comfort!” she explained, blushing.

Logan laughed but went in the back and opened his arms for her.

She smiled and went in the back with him. He didn't wait much to hug and kiss her.

“Have I told... you... how beautiful... you are?” he asked between kisses.

“Only ten times.” she whispered back smiling.

He kissed her nose, her cheeks, her eyelids, her chin and, finally, when she was going to take control of their make out session, he kissed her on the mouth.

Veronica's heart was racing while she lay on her back, taking Logan with her. His hands explored her body over the clothes, touching her hips and waist. Her breath became even more labored when, with each passage, his hands went closer and closer to her breasts.

They were very near to the second base and she was a little nervous. Since her rape she hadn't gone over first base with no one and now, only after one day, they were almost in second base, even if a light one.

Logan as if reading her mind stopped, one of his hands was on her waist and the other was near the head.

“Don't worry, Veronica,” he said looking at her in the eyes. “We'll take our time. I don't want to make you feel uncomfortable.”

She was worried that he was saying it only to calm her, but looking in his eyes, she could see that he meant it.

“Thanks,” she pulled his lips on hers. “I think that we could keep up what we were doing earlier.” she smirked , took one of his hands and placed it on her breast, letting out a flickering sigh.

“Are you sure?”

“Yes.” she mumbled, kissing him with unbridled need.

Logan didn't make her repeat herself and began to touch her from over the clothes.

Veronica liked the sensation very much but knew that she wasn't ready to any other first time. She was happy when Logan seemed to understand it and tried to restrain himself to going over a very light second base.

She smiled while kissing him and thought how caring and sweet he was being. She had already known that he could be a very good boyfriend, his past relationship with Lilly proved it, but she couldn't have imagined how much of a good one he would be.

 

 

 

 


	8. M.A.D. revamped

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> After I redo the events of the last episodes of first season we will skip fast through the summers months before the bus crash.
> 
> After I'll redo the second season without LoVe in Neptune and we'll see how they are doing in St. Matthews.
> 
> I warn you, this is the longest chapter I ever wrote XD Over 4700 words.

**8\. M.A.D. Revamped**

 

Wallace really liked his new job.

He had started to work for Keith Mars only the week before and he was surprised when some of his school mates had asked him for help with little cases. In the firsts three days of the week, he had already earned 150 dollars. Life could get better only if Veronica would come back and if he hadn't seen his mom and Mr. Mars making out on his couch.

“You look strange, Wallace.” Mac smiled at him when he sat down next to her in the quad.

“Ya know about my mom and Mr. Mars?” Mac nodded. “I walked in on 'em making out on the couch last night. She was sittin' on his lap.” he shuddered.

“Wallace parental PDA isn't my idea of a good talk for lunch time.” Wallace smiled sadly at his friend.

“A’right, sorry. I can't be the only one with that image burned in my brain. I had to share with someone and...”

“... Veronica isn't here.” finished Mac with the same sad smile.

They began to eat their lunch in silence, missing a certain sleuth with a passion for trouble.

“Sorry, are you Wallace?” he turned and found himself in front of one of the most beautiful girl he ever saw.

“Yeah,” he answered, trying to compose himself a little.

“I need your help,” he was a little disappointed that she wasn't there to ask him out, but he tried not to let it show on his face.

“Go on...” he stalled to let the girl present herself.

“Carmen.”

“Go on, Carmen.”

“My ex, Tad, has an embarrassing video of me at Shelly's party of two years ago. I don’t even remember doing it. I must have been wasted. I-I would never do something like that. It’s totally disgusting,” Wallace could see that she was almost in tears.

“Wait,” he took her hand and led her out of the quad, nearby the football's field, and under the bleachers. “We can talk a little more privately here.”

“Thank you.”

“What were you doin' in the video, Carmen?”

“I’m skinny-dipping in some hot tub and…I have this…popsicle and I…”

“I think that's enough,” he stopped her and smiled.

“He said that if I broke up with him he'll send the video to all the school.” she started to cry.

“You think he'll do it?” he passed her a tissue.

“I don’t know. When I said I wanted to break up, he was just…but I can’t take the chance. I need you to get me that phone, Wallace. You can do that, can’t you?”

“Surely can, Carmen,” he let her cry some more, asked her some questions about the when and where the video was taken and then escorted her to class.

He passed the next hour trying to find a way to steal the phone but he couldn't come up with a good enough plan so he decided to ask Keith for some input.

.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.

“So, she wants you to erase the video from the phone?”

“Yeah,” Wallace smiled at Keith.

He was practically living with them, but no one was addressing the matter or making it official.

“When was the video taken?”

“At a party, before Christmas, the year of Lilly's death,” he looked down at the food, even the death of Lilly was a remainder of the big hole in the little family dinner.

Darryl went on eating, but Alicia noticed his sadness and placed one of her hands on his arm.

“Yeah, I remember that party,” said Keith, looking far away. “The day after, I came back home and I found Veronica with her new short haircut, burning her pink, white, and light colored clothes.”

“Oh my God,” whispered Alicia.

“It was a little scary. She looked at me and smiled sadly before burning the white dress that she had bought especially for the party.”

Wallace thought that the moment that Keith was describing was the exact moment in which Veronica became what she was nowadays. Badass, closed off, vengeful and bitter.

“What do you think of the case? How can I steal the phone?” Wallace tried to change the topic; the prior one was too hurtful.

“I think that stealing the phone won't stop him, Wallace,” he sighed. “People like him make copies. He isn't stupid. Probably, he has a copy of the video on his computer. Stealing his phone will only enrage him.”

Wallace hadn't thought of that and he scowled himself for his stupidity. It was very logical to think that the video on the phone wasn't the only copy.

“Then what can I do?”

“There are two possibilities,” Keith smiled at him and put down his fork. “The first one is to collect proof of the existence of the video, and of the fact that your friend was a minor, and too out of it to consent to being recorded while naked. Blackmailing her with the release of the video is counted as distribution of child pornography videos, and it's not taken lightly in court. If he's found guilty he'll go in prison.”

“Yay, for the community soap!” exclaimed Wallace. “I like this plan, but I can hear a big but comin'.”

“But if Tad's parents can pay more than Carmen's parents, he'll win the process.” Wallace could see that Keith was ashamed of the justice's system of Neptune, where the law serve always the richer.

“The second one?”

“I have a very potent virus, something that I borrowed from Kane's software,” Keith was smirking while he said 'borrowed'. “If you attach the virus to the file, the first time that someone tries to open it, the virus destroys it definitively, but the best thing is that if you copy the file and send it to other computers, you copy the virus too. Every file will have the virus, and it will search in the hard disk of the computers to find video with the same specifics.”

“I think that Carmen will go with the second possibility. It's safer and less public.” Wallace smiled. “Thank you, Keith.”

“I'll show you how to attach the virus but the B&E will be your doing.”

Alicia glared at her men at the mention of B&E.

“It's for the greater good mom!” Wallace winked at Keith.

“Yeah, Alicia, your son is right.”

“Okay, but if he is caught, you'll bail him, Keith Mars.” she said sternly.

“Yes, madame.”

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Like Wallace had predicted, Carmen chose the second possibility. Her parents weren't 09ers.

“How will we do it?”

They were under the bleachers again.

“I need you to put a bug in his home.”

“I don't know...” he could see that she was a little reticent. “Tad used to be different. I mean, he was the first boyfriend I ever had. He was the first guy I ever slept with.” she said, blushing.

“Yeah, and he's the first guy that got ya drunk and videotaped ya while naked.”

“You're right.”

“I'll listen to hear when the house will be empty, then I'll get in and put the virus on the video.”

“Thank you, Wallace.”

“No prob, girl. I can't stand bullies and that's what Tad is.” he smiled and put his hand on her shoulder.

They spent the rest of their lunch hour planning, eating and talking like friends.

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Logan loved his work.

After a month and a week he knew it.

The shop wasn't a big one, only two other people beside him and his boss, Bobby, worked there.

Logan looked around at all the equipment for surfing, windsurfing, kayaking and scuba diving. You could rent it or buy it.

After their first surfing lesson, Logan had bought Veronica her first wetsuit. It was black with red decorations and she had fallen in love with it.

He was now thinking of buying surfboards. Even with the employee's discount renting the boards was heavy on their budget. He even found the perfect one for Veronica, but he was afraid that a gift so pricy would scare her off, so early in their relationship, so he asked Bobby to not sell that board and promised to buy it in the next three weeks.

He couldn't believe that they were together since Monday of last week. It was already ten days.

They needed to celebrate the little conquest.

Logan thought about it while working and, at the end of the day, came up with a good idea.

He called Veronica's boss while she wasn't nearby and asked her if Victoria could do the all-day shift, from eight to four. He explained his request and was very grateful when she accepted.

The plan was on.

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Wallace was in his mom's car with Carmen in the passenger seat. They were nearby Tad's house.

“You know what to do, girl,” she passed her the bug and smiled. “Ya'll be good, Carmen. Don't ya worry.”

She nodded, took a few deep breaths and got out of the car.

“I'll wait here for you,” Wallace smiled, waving goodbye as she walked away.

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Logan had worked very hard with his deception to have Veronica out of the house until dinner time.

He knew that it was stupid, it was only a week, but he wanted to do something special for her. He had tried very hard to cook all afternoon to make lasagna. It was her favorite dish so he wanted to do it right and impress her a little.

Logan had followed the recipe he had found on the internet to the letter and the outcome was a very good looking and smelling pan of lasagna. He set the table for the two of them and put a vase of fresh flowers in the middle.

He opened a bottle of beer, took a sip to relax a little and went back in the kitchen to look at the dinner. It was almost ready.

The doorknob rattled and the door opened.

“Honey, I'm home!” Veronica put the keys in the plate nearby the door and took off her jacket. “What's this delicious smell, snookums?” Logan smiled when he saw her eyes sparkle. “You cooked for me?” she was very surprised.

“I did. You worked hard all day long and we survived a week of coupledom,” he smirked, leading her towards the table. “I thought that we needed to celebrate a little.”

“What did you cook, honeybun?” she smiled sweetly at him.

“Guess...”

Veronica took a big breath in and closed her eyes, making Logan smile.

“Okay, I think that I know this smell, but it can't be what I think it is.”

“Whatcha thinking?”

“Lasagna?” her eyes were sparkling like little stars.

“Yep, you guessed good, padawan,” Logan opened the oven and took out the pan, sniffing his final work. “They smell and look good.”

“They do, Logan. I didn't know that you can cook so well.” Veronica was almost bouncing in the chair. “If they are as good as they smell, I think I'll marry you.” she joked almost drooling when Logan gave her a big portion of lasagna.

For a second, a flutter of lashes, Logan lost himself. He was thinking of a beautiful sunset on the beach, of a beautiful girl, in a beautiful white dress, walking towards him while a big smile takeover her face.

He shook his head, trying to forget the images, but they wouldn't go away.

Logan looked at the girl in question while she took her first bite of his lasagna and closed her eyes to taste it better.

“It's delicious, Logan,” she was surprised. “It's not fair,” Veronica pouted a little. “When you apply yourself on something you'll get good results. When I try, I fail spectacularly”

“Maybe, but you're a great sleuth, you can crack puzzles that I can't even start to comprehend; you're smart and beautiful, a very rare combination, let me tell you, sugarlips,” he smiled and after serving himself he sat down and began to eat.

She blushed a little but didn't look down.

“You're not bad yourself.”

During the whole dinner they talked, joked, and flirted. Logan couldn't remember being this happy in the last years.

Veronica was one in a million. She wasn't perfect, but he started to think that maybe she was perfect for him. Not only was she smart and beautiful, her wits rivaled his, and she liked to banter almost as much as him.

When they were done with dinner, they went on the couch and Logan introduced her to the first film of the Underworld series.

“Admit it, you like the film because of Kate Beckinsale.” said Veronica with a smirk when the first half of the film ended.

“I do not!” Logan exclaimed, pretending to be offended. “It's a beautiful film, good plot, good special effects...”

“Hot actress...”

Logan smirked and hugged Veronica.

“Yeah, okay, she's hot.” he kissed her on the lips. “But you're better, sugarlips.”

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Carmen was successful in planting the bug, the feed started to come through two hours ago.

Wallace was now listening to some very boring dinner topic while munching on some chips. He was tired, but he needed to wait for Carmen because she didn't have a car.

“ _Thank you Alyson, it was all very good, but I need to go home, my mom will kill me if I come too late. Tomorrow we have school,”_ Wallace sat straighter, hearing that Carmen was coming out.

“ _See you tomorrow, baby.”_

Wallace rolled his eyes hearing Tad. He really thought that what he did is right. Asshole.

He heard the sound of the door closing and so he started the car.

“Wallace...” Carmen whispered. “Still there?”

“Where do you think would I be?” he joked. “Get in, I'll take you home.”

“The bug works?” Carmen smiled and opened the passenger's door.

“Yeah, you did good inside.”

“Thank you, Wallace,” she blushed and looked down, trying to hide it while she latched the seat belt.

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They were cleaning the kitchen. Veronica could swear that her intentions had been totally innocent. At the start.

She didn't really know how she had arrived on top of the kitchen counter with Logan, between her legs, kissing her like there was no tomorrow.

Veronica involuntary moaned when Logan rubbed his groin on hers. He was a very good kisser; he could make her melt in a puddle of goo with only a kiss.

“Logan...” she whispered while he began to kiss her neck.

“Mmm?” he bit her neck a little then sucked on the same spot.

“If you...” she couldn't remember what she wanted to say. “A hickey... If you don't stop you'll leave a hickey.”

Veronica could feel Logan smile and, instead of stopping, he sucked harder. His hands where touching her waist, going up, until the bottom of her breasts, and then down. She was almost sure that Logan was trying to hypnotize her.

“Wanna sleep with me?” asked Veronica out of the blue.

“What?” Logan was baffled by her sudden question.

“Only to sleep,” she clarified.

Logan kissed her lips sweetly another time then put his head on her and closed his eyes.

“I'd love to, sugarlips,” his voice was lower than normal.

“I feel safe here.” Veronica started to explain. “I never felt safe with a boy after the... Shelly's party,” Logan hugged her, trying to comfort her. “But with you? I feel safe, Logan.” Veronica hugged him a little tighter. “I had a lot of nightmares, on that with Duncan. Maybe if you sleep with me, they'll leave me alone...”

“I'll stay with you and I'll be a gentleman.” promised Logan with a little smirk. “But if you want to jump my bones I'll assure you that you won't hear a complaint from me.”

Veronica laughed and got down from the counter.

“Thank you...” she took his hand and guided him toward her room.

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Wallace didn't need to wait too long.

Tad's had a physical evaluation next day after school, and his parents decided that while he was there, they could go to the mall and do some shopping for the party that would be held in the Casablancas estates.

Wallace parked his car in the same spot as the night before, walked on the back of the house and, after he had jumped the gates, picked the lock. It wasn't easy but in a little over fifteen minutes the door was open.

“Mac, you're still there?”

“ _I can hear you loud and clear, Wallace._ ” Mac voice came from the bluetooth earphone.

“Are they still at the mall?”

“ _Yes, Wallace._ ” he could hear that she was a little annoyed with him, but he couldn't help himself. He was stressed, and asking Mac where Tad's parents were every five minutes helped him calm down.

He found Tad's room with no problem.

“I'm inside.” he said while opening Tad's MacBook.

“ _He has a password?_ ”

“Nope, Carmen was right. He doesn't have one.” Wallace smiled, it was easier this way.

He searched for the file for another ten minutes, but in the end he found it.

“Jackpot! I have it!” he said to Mac, smiling.

Wallace put the pen drive in one of the USB exit, and in little more than thirty seconds attached the virus on the file.

“ _Remember that you need to open it at least one time, to activate the virus._ ” Mac remind him.

Wallace clicked two times on the file and waited.

“Shit, Carmen was really wasted...” he whispered seeing his new friend's vague gaze in the video. “Mac, I don't think she was drunk...” he said worried.

“ _What do you mean, Wallace?_ ”

“I think she was drugged, she said that she had a drink - rum and coke. But if you could see this... there's no way that a rum and coke would do somethin' like that, even if ya are a light weight.”

“ _We'll think about it later, Wallace. Now you need to take all the burned CDs and get out from there._ ”

“You're right. I'll be out in fifteen.”

Wallace thoroughly searched Tad's room and found twenty-four burned CDs. He took them all and exited the house.

“I'm out...” he whispered to Mac.

“ _See you at Mars Investigations in ten minutes,_ ” Mac said and then hung up.

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Ten minutes later, Carmen, Keith, Mac, and Wallace were in the waiting room of Mars Investigations.

“I looked inside the CDs,” Mac passed one CD to Carmen. “This is yours.”

“Thank you,” Carmen was almost in tears. Wallace saw it and went near her.

“We did it, Carmen.” Wallace had a sad smile on his face. He needed to tell her about the possibility that Tad had drugged her at the party. “But it's not all over.”

“What?” she turned her attention back on him.

“I think that you were drugged, Carmen.” he tried to use an even tone of voice, to not scare her.

“It's impossible, I swear, I don't do that shit.”

“We know. I think that Tad gave you something without you knowing about it,” Wallace closed his eyes, he knew that what he was about to say would make Mr. Mars very sad. “And I think you weren't the only one...”

“What?” Carmen was confused.

“Before the black out, do you remember seeing Veronica at the party?” Wallace looked at Keith and saw that he was starting to understand. Veronica changed a lot after that night, and knowing that there were drugs at the party made him believe that maybe something happened.

“Yeah...” she was a little hesitant.

“Carmen, talk please,” Keith was distraught.

“She was passed out, on a chair,” she looked down ashamed. “I thought that she was drunk and I asked Tad to help her and put her in a room, but he gave me a drink instead. He said that if she was stupid enough to get drunk at a party where everybody hated her, what happens to her would be only her fault. After...”

“You don't remember anything,” Wallace closed his eyes. “Who was at the party?”

“Almost all the 09ers.”

“Keith, maybe that's it,” he went near the PI.

“We need to investigate,” Keith started to pace.

“We'll do it,” Mac said with an hard look. “You can't do it Mr. Mars, but we can, at school.”

“Mac is right, Keith.” Wallace started to think of ways to make the 09ers talk to him. “But we'll need help. We need muscle.”

“We can ask Weevil. He likes Veronica, they had some strange friendship going on before her big escape. He'll help us if we tell him that it's for her.” Mac went behind the desk to start the computer.

“We can't.”

“Why, Wallace?” Keith looked at him. “I think that having him back you up will help.”

“He is in prison, something to do with the Kanes. I heard that last week, I wanted to tell Veronica but...”

Keith sighed loudly, took his jacket and went out.

“Stay here, I'll have him home before dinner.” Keith said before closing the door of his office.

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“So son, you want to tell me why you are here?” Keith asked after Cliff let him go inside to talk with Eli. “And please, don't give me bullshit.”

“I needed to take somethin' back, a letter that I wrote Lilly,” Eli puts his cuffed hands on the table.

“And why would you do that?”

“Word on the streets is that Abel isn't our boy,” he arched his eyebrow and smirked. “Now, you see, that letter could have put me in a difficult position if that pendejo of a sheriff finds it.”

“You have an alibi.”

“Yeah, I do, but the only thing he'll see is a bad boy with a motive for killin' the good Kanes' daughter. Alibi or not.” Weevil looked down and Keith understood that the boy loved Lilly.

“I need a favor, Eli, so I'll get you out of here.” he stood up and went out.

“Keith, did you find something?” Cliff asked him after he came out.

“Yes, stay here.”

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Keith rang the bell of the Kanes estate, and one of the servants opened and he went inside with the car.

“What do you want, Keith?” Celeste was waiting for him on the door and didn't seem happy to see him.

“I want you to drop the charges against Eli Navarro.” Keith went straight to the point.

“Why would I do that?” she smirked sure of having the high ground.

“Nothing was stolen, nothing was damaged.” Celeste went on smirking so he decided to use the ace up his sleeve. “He's only a boy in love, Celeste. He went there to be near his lost love. I'm sure the paparazzi will be very interested in that bit of the story during the process.” It was his moment to smile.

Keith could see Celeste going pale, she seemed almost sick.

“Why I am not surprised that you want to free that delinquent?” the sarcasm was dripping from her word.

Keith didn't acknowledge her last words and went back to his car. He was sure that Eli will be free in a little more than an hour.

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When Keith and Weevil entered the office with dinner in their hands Wallace wasn't really surprised.

“How would you like some Thai?” Keith smiled to Mac and Wallace.

“Thank you, Mr. Mars,” Mac said politely. “But I'm vegetarian.”

“Please, Cindy, I'm a PI,” he smiled and gave her a bag. Mac looked inside and smiled.

“Thank you, again.”

The little group began to eat. Normally, it would be a good occasion to joke and talk, but that night, they were together to find out if something happened to Veronica.

“What you need me for?” Weevil asked after they had dinner.

“Ya know how Veronica changed in the last year?” he nodded. “She wrote a letter to us sayin' that she needed to go away 'cuz somethin' happened, and we have reason to think that she was talkin' about somethin' that happened to her last 09er party.”

“We need to ask some questions at school and we need backup,” Mac looked him in the eyes.

“How bad?”

“Bad enough,” Keith said seriously.

“I'm in.” he didn't think about it for more than a second.

“Then ya need to do us a little favor, for starter.” Wallace smirked and rubbed his hands. He had a little plan to make Tad talk.

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Monday morning, Wallace woke up very early. He had in front of him a very long and probably hard day.

He made himself breakfast and waited for Mac to pick him up for school.

“All is ready?”

“Yeah girl, you're in for a show,” he said smiling.

When Mac parked the car in the parking lot of Neptune High there was no one, but that was good.

Walking toward the school, they instantly saw that Weevil did his part in their little scheme.

Tad was naked, duct taped to the flagpole like he had been at the start of the year, the word _scum_ written on his chest.

“Man, I feel you. In fact, I literally do.” Wallace said while shook his head. Weevil was snickering in understanding. “But boy you deserve every bit of this!”

“What do you want from me, freak? You destroyed my life. You took away the only person that I ever loved.”

“I don’t recall forcing you to make that video,” Wallace wasn't smiling anymore and Tad had the good sense to shut up.

“So what, are you gonna cut me down if I apologize, is that it?” asked Tad angrily.

“Nah, man, I don't think so,” the smile was back on his face. “But if you answer a question maybe I'll help ya.”

“Who gave you the rohypnol the night of Shelly Pomeroy’s party.” Mac was looking him in the eyes. “Yeah, We know. You roofied your girlfriend.”

"Class" with a capital "K", man,” Wallace shook his head.

“I-I don't remember,” he wasn't really convincing.

“In about five minutes, people are gonna start showing up for school,” Mac reminded him with a smile. “Unless you want your little business to be the first thing they see, you’re gonna tell us who gave you the roofies.”

“There weren’t any roofies. It was GHB. It was Logan Echolls. He gave it to me,” Tad caved.

Wallace was shocked. If that was true, then anything that happened at the party was Logan's fault. He looked at Mac and she shook her head.

“Are you bullshitting me?” he got near him and looked him in the eyes.

“I swear! He gave me one of his doses, I asked him for two, but he said that he want to take his second one,” Tad was sweating profusely. “He said to ask, Luke, Sean, or Dick if I wanted more but they asked too much money.”

Wallace smiled sweetly and got away from the flagpole.

“Thanks, man.”

They started to walk towards school smiling.

“Look, Man. Come back here,” Tad began to shout when he understood that they were going away. “Guys, please! Don’t do this,” Wallace didn't look back and smiled. “Oh, this isn’t over!”

When they were out of Tad's eyesight they stopped.

“No.”

“What? You don't even know my question.”

“Wallace, think, if something happened to Veronica at that party and she had found out who did it and Logan was it, why would she plan their great escape?”

“Maybe he kidnapped her?” he didn't really believe it.

“Yeah, how? He is not good enough with that sort of thing. Mr. Mars would have found him.”

“A'right.” Wallace smiled. “Logan didn't do it.”

“I think we need to ask questions to the 09ers. We need to find out what happened.”

He nodded and with Mac waited for Weevil. It will be a long, hard day.

 


	9. Trip to the dentist, revamped

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Another loooooong chapter!   
> Have fun!

**9\. Trip to the dentist, revamped**

 

“Honey, would you like to have the Jeffersons at dinner tonight?” Veronica asked while she drove them to work on Monday morning.

“I like Mark and Lydia,” he yawned.

“I'll take that as a yes then.” she smiled.

“You wanna do a little trip this weekend?” Logan asked out of the blue. “Bobby gave me the direction to a very private beach. He said that the waves are beautiful there and that almost no one knows about its existence.”

“You don't think that it's too dangerous ?”

“I think you're good enough, Ronnie, and I'll be there to help you, sugarlips.” Logan placed his left hand on her thigh and squeezed it then he began to stroke the inner part and she blushed.

“Stop it, Logan,” she whispered, trying really hard to concentrate on the road. “You're distracting me.”

He gave her a last caress and then sighed loudly, taking away his hand. He faked a pout and Veronica couldn't stop her smile.

“If you're a good boy, maybe you could be lucky on our little trip...” Veronica said sweetly.

Logan stopped breathing for a few second then exhaled loudly.

“You're going to kill me, Veronica Mars.” she almost didn't hear him, his voice was trembling slightly.

“But you like me anyway, don't you?”

He snorted and she laughed at him. She won, again.

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Weevil shook his head hearing Dick showing off his new surfboard.

“Randy just finished shaping it for me. Double concave bottom with the sweetest little rocker through the tail,” Dick was saying to John Enbom and some of his surf dudes.

He ignored them and went straight inside school, in the girl bathroom that had been Veronica's office.

“You're late,” Weevil couldn't remember the name of the girl.

“Chill, _chica_ , I was taking a photo of my little artwork,” he smirked and was a little stunned when he could see a smirk on the girl face.

“My name isn't _chica_. I'm Mac.”

“A'right, ya think that we could start talkin' about what we need to do?” Wallace rolled his eyes.

“Sorry, man.”

“Tad said that Logan, Luke and Sean had drugs at the party...”

“Wait, _richboy_ had drugs and we're here talkin'?” he was enraged.

“Chill man, ya think that Veronica would runaway with him if it was him that hurt her?”

Weevil took a little time to think seriously about it.

“She was the one who orchestrated the escape. There's no way that Logan could kidnap her and then disappear without her help.”

“You're right.” Weevil hated to say that. Nothing would have made him happier that having a good excuse to beat the boy up.

“I think that we need to start our investigation, talk with people that actually liked her, like Meg.”

“So, you won't need me. Call me when you do.”

Weevil exited the bathroom and went to class. He couldn't slack too much on his school work this year, his grandmother wants him to graduate next one and he really wanted to make her proud of him, so he had decided to take school a little more seriously this year.

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Wallace and Mac saw Meg in front in the hall after first period.

“Um, can we skip Math today?” she asked Mac. They had second period math together. “I had English and I think that I have some sort of Hemingway-related narcolepsy. You start talking about “The Sun Also Rises,” and I start falling asleep. I need a little break,” she joked.

“I don't think that is Hemingway related, more like Mrs. Murphy related narcolepsy.” Mac quipped back, making Meg laugh.

“Okay, I can see your faces. You need a favor?”

“You're right, we wanted to ask you something.” Mas smiled a little bit.

“About what?”

“Ya were at Shelly Pomroy’s end of the year party, right?” Wallace asked, trying to be nonchalant about it. He could see that Meg didn't really want to answer the question, she started to fidget a little.

“Uh, yeah, yeah for a little while.” she confirmed in the end.

“Did you see Vee there?” Mac went straight to the point.

“Why?” Meg was truly upset.

“We want to know, somethin' that she said in a letter before her big runaway.” Wallace shrugged and smiled at her.

“I don't think that you want to know.” she whispered, looking down at her feet.

“So you saw her.”

“Yes,” she admitted. “For like a second. I was with Cole and we were just leaving,” she started to fidget again while she explained what happened. “I wanted to say goodbye to Shelly but Cole really wanted to go home and said something about how much I talked with her, and that maybe I wanted to stay for some body shots,” she sighed and continued, ashamed. “I saw Veronica. She was on a sun lounger and a crowd of 09ers were doing tequila lime and salt on her.”

“You know...”

“I only recognized Logan, he was pouring salt on her chest and put a piece of lime on her lips.”

“And you didn't do anything?” Wallace could hear from Mac tone of voice that she was angry with Neptune's princess.

“I wanted to but Cole said that he didn't want to end the night with her puking in his car. I was going to protest but someone came to her rescue and he led me away.”

“You don't know who stopped the boys?”

“No, I'm sorry Mac.”

Meg walked away and Wallace sighed. The conversation didn't really helped too much. They only know that Logan was a jackass, like always.

“What do we do now?” Mac asked him. “We have barely started this investigation and I'm feeling sick already.”

“I think that we need to talk with Luke and Sean, they were the ones with drugs.”

“You think we'll need Weevil?”

“For Luke? No. But Sean maybe will need a little... convincin'.”

They decided to approach him before lunchtime, when he would be alone and Wallace could collect the debt that he had with Veronica.

“Hey, man.”

“It's Wallace, right?” Luke asked, looking up.

“I'm here to collect your debt with Veronica. Ya remember? She saved your sorry ass with that big drug dealer?” Wallace sat down near him, Mac at his right.

“Yeah,” Luke could see the serious look on their face. “What can I do you for you?”

“We heard ya went to TJ with Sean and Logan and scored some GHB.” Wallace smiled evilly at him. Luke was a little nervous.

“Wow, that was like, ah, that was like a year ago. I don’t have any now.”

“Ya think that only 'cuz I'm black I want that shit, man?” Wallace tried to sound as angry as he could.

“N-no.. I...” Luke started to tremble a little.

“We want to know what you did with it.” Mac beat him on it.

“Nothing. Honestly, I-I didn’t do anything, I gave it away.” he answered quickly.

“Who’d you give it to?” Mac looked him closly.

“Um, Dick Casablancas.” Luke seemed to go somewhere far away. “He wanted to... make Madison a little... nicer. But he took the other dose because he was truly stoned.”

“So you're saying that Dick drugged his girlfriend?” Mac was outraged.

“He wanted to, but I don't think he did it.”

“Why?” Wallace frowned.

“I saw here later, she was writing slut on Veronica's car. GHB is supposed to make you nicer...”

“Why did she do that?” Mac looked at Wallace sadly.

“Uh, I don’t know. ‘Cause she’s a horrible human being?”

Wallace and Mac stood up, Luke couldn't tell them more on the night because he didn't remember much more.

“You're thinking what I'm thinking?” Mac sighed.

“Madison.”

“I'll wait for her in the bathroom.” Wallace looked at her confused. “I have something on her, I won't need your help, Wallace.” she assured him with a little smirk.

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Madison was preening in front of the mirror. Mac appeared in it, standing behind her. She had waited for her during all the breaks between periods and had almost given up, but at last hour she entered the bathroom.

“Hi, Maddy.” Mac said with a sugary sweet tone.

“What's the deal, can't buy bronzer with food stamps?”

“I'm here to ask you a question.”

“Yeah, and what makes you think that I'll answer you?” she smirked and turned to look at her.

“I know something on you, Madison. Something that your parents never told you.”

“I don't believe you, my parents never lie to me.” Madison scoffed with her usual obnoxious air.

“Do you really wanna bet your popularity and your status on your stubbornness?” Mac smiled a Mona Lisa smile. “You remember who my best friend is, don't you?”

She didn't answer her but Mac could see that she had won.

“You wrote slut on Veronica's car a year ago at Shelly's party. Why?”

“Because whore had too many letters.” she said like it was nothing. Mac arched her eyebrow, letting Madison know that she didn't like the answer.

“How ‘bout she was making out with my boyfriend in front of an entire party.” Mac was looking at her like she had two heads. “I guess I shouldn’t take that personally, though, huh? She pretty much made out with everyone. Even Casey.”

“She made out with Dick and Casey?”

“Please. She made out with the garage door. And don’t even start with the “She was so wasted”.”

“She wasn't wasted! She was drugged you vapid bitch!” Mac yelled angrily. For half a second Madison looked stunned but then scoffed at her.

“Yeah...”

Mac rolled her eyes and went out to talk with Wallace who was waiting for her outside.

“She said that Veronica made out with Dick and Casey and that was why she wrote slut on her car.”

“Was she telling the truth?”

“I think so. What do we do now?”

“Wait for tomorrow and maybe talk with Keith.”

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“Vee, relax a little!” Logan smiled at his beautiful girlfriend. “Everything is perfect.”

“You're sure?”

“Yes, I am.”

He looked at the table, set for the four of them. She did a very good job; she had even cooked without burning anything and she made some of her delicious snickerdoodles. Logan tried to steal one of the cookies but she slapped his hand every time he tried.

“Mark would be envious of me, because I have the best wife in all the world.” he said, hugging her and kissing her nose sweetly.

Veronica looked him in the eyes and gave him a true kiss. When their lips met, Logan felt the world disappear. There was nothing outside of them kissing. Her lips tasted of sugar, probably she had eaten a cookie, and her taste was maddening like always.

If he could, he would never stop kissing her, but breathing became an issue and so he let her breathe, deciding to kiss and bite her neck instead. He had found a little spot, under her earlobe, that made her moan loudly. He began to suck that spot and Veronica almost melted in his arms.

“Logan...” she said his name in that way that made his dick become hard in mere seconds.

He sucked harder on her skin, wanting to leave a hickey. One of her hand went to his head and pushed him against her skin with force letting him know that she didn't want him to stop.

The doorbell brought them back on earth.

“Fuck...” Logan hissed trying to calm himself.

Veronica looked at him, her eyes were dilated and didn't help him to calm. If it was up to him he would make the Jeffersons go away and would ravish Veronica until she screamed his name.

“Go open the door, I need to chill a little.” Logan went to the bathroom and splashed his face with water. If he had time, he would have to take care of his 'not so little' problem with his own hands, but he could hear Mark and Lydia's voices.

“Where is Logan?” Mark was asking when he went back in the dinning room.

“Behind you.” he answered smirking.

“Hey man!”

“Mark, Lydia, I hope that you have already eaten, because Victoria tried to cook for us.”

“Hey!” she slapped him on the chest.

“Don't worry, Vee.” Lydia made a show of sniffing. “All smells good.”

“Thank you, Lydia.” Veronica smiled sweetly at their friend and led them to the table. “Sit please, or the dinner will get cold.”

Logan smiled at her and then sat down near her. She answered his smile in a way that made him gulp. He knew that smile; it was the one that she gave him when she was about to do something a little naughty.

He was talking with their friends when Veronica made her move. Her hand started to stroke his inner thigh, making him falter a little when she went a little too high for him to be comfortable.

In that moment Logan understood that it would be a long evening.

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When Wallace arrived at home he could hear his mom and Keith having a fight.

“ _She could have gotten me fired, Keith. How is that not a big deal to you,_ ” he heard his mom say.

“ _I didn’t say it wasn’t,_ ” Wallace could tell that he was trying to be quieter.

“ _She put a listening device in a plant, had my son deliver it to my place of business!_ ” his mom yelled.

“ _And she has her reasons._ ”

Wallace was swearing inside his head. He had known that he wasn't delivering only a plant but, as afterthought, maybe he should have disguised it a little. Too late now.

“ _Her reasons? She's seventeen!_ ”

“ _She's not your average seventeen year-old,_ ” Keith tried to reason with her but Wallace knew that it won't work.

“ _Well, how can she be when you treat her like she forty.”_

Wallace sighed, his mom couldn't understand and maybe he wouldn't have understood too, if he wasn't investigating on what happened at Shelly's party, but he did.

“Mom, stop!” he said, entering the room. “I knew what I was doing. Veronica didn't make me do anything.”

“Wallace...” Keith tried to stop him.

“She was bugged first, mom!”

“What?” she was stunned. “She was bugged first?”

Wallace went to his room, he did what he could to try to diffuse the situation.

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On Tuesday morning Wallace didn't see Keith at breakfast, but when he asked his mom, she said that he needed to go to work, something about a bail jumper.

Mac, like the day before, picked him up for school.

“Why the long face?” she asked while she parked the car in her spot.

“It' a'right, mom and Keith fought about somethin', nothin' much.”

“Okay,” Mac didn't push on the matter. “So which one of the boys should we start with?”

“I was thinking of Casey coz he is the lesser evil. Then we'll need Weevil for Sean and Dick.”

“I'll send him a text to let him know.”

They were going inside the school when they saw Casey in front of them.

“Hey, man, wait up!” Wallace stopped him.

“You're Veronica's friends.”

“Yep, we have some question for ya.” Wallace blocked his way. “You remember Shelly's party?”

“Not really,” he tried to blow them of, but Wallace put himself in his way.

“Did you hit on Veronica?” Mac asked without giving him time to think of running again.

“No.”

“Did it get ugly at Shelly's?”

“Yeah.” he smiled. “She was wasted, man,” he started to explain. “Dick hit on her and kissed her a little, and then he saw Madison and pushed her on me.”

“You didn't see her after?” Casey seemed a little nervous at Wallace question. “Spill it.”

“I saw her after. She was with Dick, Cassidy and Sean. They fed her shots and made her kiss Shelly.”

“They were feeding her shots?”

“Guess they were afraid she was sobering up,” he said nonchalantly then walked off.

Mac looked at him with a worried expression on her face.

“They could have killed her,” she whispered, shaking a little. “Mixing GHB with high doses of alcohol is very dangerous.”

Wallace was disgusted by the news.

“We need to find Weevil and then Sean.”

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Weevil was adjourned by Wallace on the situation. The story was becoming scarier, Veronica could have died that night, and she was lucky that she didn't. Maybe.

Sean was in a classroom, seated the wrong way astride a chair, hugging the back. Another student was standing in front of him and they were talking. Weevil hurried in, grabbed a chair and swung it to abut it to Sean’s at the same time, physically pushing the other student away. He sat astride the chair, arms folded on the back of it, nose to nose with Sean, a smirk on his face, and Wallace and Mac behind him.

“What?” Sean asked, trying to hide his trembling voice.

“I'm thinkin' of all the way in which I can kill you _pendejo_ ,” Weevil smiled when he saw him sweat.

“What do you want?” Sean was nervous.

“So I heard that you like to watch some girl-on-girl action.” his smirk became even more creepy and Sean started to tremble, remembering the last time he had seen it.

“I have no idea what you’re talking about.” the boy tried to say.

“Don't give me bullshit!” Weevil got up and made him stand from the chair. “We know that you were feedin' Veronica drinks and makin' her kiss that _puta_ , Shelly, at her party last year.”

“Look, I wasn’t feeding her drinks. It was Dick. He’s the one that you should be talking to.” Sean tried to pray away Weevil's hands from his jacket. “Listen, we carried her in a room, I thought Dick was doing it for her but then he began to say disgusting thing about her,” he looked down trying to appear guilty and shamed but Weevil could tell that he wasn't either of that things. “Dick even mocked his brother, saying that Veronica was his best chance with a girl. Then he made me back out with him, leaving behind Cassidy with some condoms.”

Wallace snorted lightly in the background and Weevil knew that even him didn't believe at some of the things that Sean said.

“Your issues are with Dick and Beaver, not me. They were horrible to her,” the boy tried again.

“Well, I’m just sorry you had to witness it. That must have been awful for you.” Mac said statistically.

Weevil let Sean go and then turned to his ally.

“He was bullshittin' us on his responsibility 'bout Veronica's treatment, but I don't think he was lyin' at the end.” he sighed. “He was tellin' the truth when he said that he left the room with richboy's dog, but maybe we could ask some question around, and if he lied to us then I'll make him pay.” he smirked evilly, making Wallace shiver a little.

“I think that Dick is the next one on the list.” Mac closed her eyes. “But I don't know how we could make him pay attention to us.”

“Let me.”

“Weevil, I don't think he's afraid of ya, no offense.”

“No, the boy is too stupid, but I have an idea.”

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Dick’s surfboard, resting just in front of the Beetle's offside front wheel, Wallace was behind the wheel. The engine was idle, when Dick approached.

“Hey man!” Weevil was leaning on the side of Mac's car.

“What are you doing?” Dick was very angry, even Mac could tell.

“We are here to ask you some questions, Dick.” she said walking near Weevil. “That is to make you pay attention.”

Dick attempted to move to rescue his board. Wallace stopped him by revving the engine. He saw that the board is leaning against the curb and stopped.

“You ain't listenin', she said that we have question, dude.” Weevil said slowly.

“You're frickin' nuts, you know that?”

“Yeah, and ya know that insultin' us isn't a good plan?” Wallace said while he revved the engine again.

Dick stepped back and held up his hands.

“What do you want?”

“Answer, you could start telling us how much you remember about Shelly's party.” Mac looked at him and crossed her arms.

“Dudes, I was wasted, I remember very little about that frickin' party.”

“You better start rememberin'.” Weevil said taking a step towards him. “Veronica, did you give her GHB?”

“What?” Dick looked really perplexed. “No!”

“But you gave it to Madison?” Mac lifted her eyebrow.

“Yeah, I took a dose and I gave her the other, to have a little fun.” Dick said like it was nothing. Mac felt a little disgusted. This was the guy she had thought could be a good friend only days ago.

During the last weeks she had thought that Dick was a good friend for Logan - loyal and true - but how could he do something like that without feeling a little bit of remorse.

“We know you brought Vee into the guest bedroom for Beaver.”

“I don't know, maybe I did. I only remember her coming on to Beaver and telling to him that she was his best possibility of losing his virginity after that Cindy left the party with Logan.”

“You told your brother to rape her?” Mac was truly disgusted now.

“What? No!” Dick shook his head. “She was wasted and was behaving like a slut...” Wallace revved the engine again.

“Wanna try for another word maybe?”

“She was being... easy. I was mocking Beaver. He wouldn't ever do something like that, I was joking!”

Mac looked at her two allies, she was disgusted by Dick's lack of morals, she thought that he needed to be punished in some way, so when Wallace asked her with a look what to do, she nodded, signaling him to go on with the plan.

With a look that could have killed Dick, he put both hands on the wheel and surged forward. The surfboard was smashed to smithereens. Dick was not happy but the presence of Weevil stopped him from trying to take any action against them.

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Beaver closed his locker to find Wallace leaning against the next door locker. Beaver looked heavenward, like a frightened rabbit.

“Beaver. Damn, ya don’t look happy to see me.” Wallace said, smiling.

“How’s it going, Wallace?” he asked, stammering a little. Cassidy tried to turn around and run but Weevil and Mac stopped him.

“A'right man. I just found out that the nightmare I had where my BFF was locked all alone in a bedroom with ya was reality. Care to share some details, lovar boy?” his smile was gone.

“Nothing happened.”

“Actually, something did happen, we know it.” Wallace looked at Mac surprised by her new found ability to lie.

“Look, I swear to god, I didn’t touch Veronica.” Beaver hold his hands up. “Okay, I mean, Dick, he was, he was, all on to me and there was, there was this girl, this, this freshman, her name’s Cindy and she’s kind of…” he stuttered and looked down ashamed. “Well, she’s easy, you know and me and her, we were, we were supposed to…I don’t know, Dick, Dick, he set something up okay and then, and then she was all over Logan and then she left early with him.”

“Why are you tellin' us things that we already know?” Weevil interrupted him.

“Okay, Dick and Sean brought me in the room. Veronica was wasted, I knew that, she was coming at me and Dick was saying some things not very... kind,” he looked away. “He was touching her on the thigh saying that it was my only possibility to lose my... my virginity and I wanted him to stop. So I told him what he wanted to hear. Sean gave me three condoms then they went away,” Cassidy wouldn't look any of them in the eyes. “It was my big night. Instead I…hurl on Carrie Bishop’s shoes,” he sighed. “Nothing happened. Really, I mean, I-I swear on my life that the last time that I saw Veronica, she was passed out on that bed.”

“You're _loco_ ,” Weevil shook his head. “You left a _wasted_ girl alone in a house full of wasted boys that hated her?”

Cassidy looked down again and started to stammer about how sorry he was.

Wallace sighed and let him leave.

“We need to ask Carrie if that's true.” Wallace looked at her, Mac, always the thoughtful.

“How? I don't think that she would like to talk with us.”

“I think I know what to do.”

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Mac and Wallace were in a coffee shop, sitting at the counter and Carrie, serving behind it, walked over.

“What can I get for you?”

“We’ll have two strawberry cheesecakes, a cappuccino, a latte, and some answers if you can give us about two minutes,” Mac smiled at the girl, trying to appear innocent.

“I’m kind of in the weeds.”

Wallace ignored her answer. “Here’s the thing. Do ya remember Shelly’s party last year?”

“Yeah.”

“Good, Then you can tell us if you saw Veronica there.”

“Yeah, I do.” Mac and Wallace looked at her, waiting her answer. “I was in the bathroom, that Casablancas kid threw up on my new shoes, when I went out, I found Veronica and Duncan going at it. I told them to shut the door next time, I did it for them and went away.” Carrie walked away from the two friends but they didn't even notice it. They had their answer.

 

%MCEPASTEBIN%

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Love it? Hated it? Let me know!


	10. Chapter 10

**10\. Leave it to Beaver, revamped**

  
  


Wallace, Mac and Weevil were at Mars Investigations, to talk to Mr. Mars.

They had talked about what they found out and had concluded that Keith needed to know the truth, even if Veronica would be against it if she was here.

“Hey, what are you all doing here?” Keith asked when he found the two teens waiting for him in the receiving area of Mars Investigations.

“Mr. Mars, we...” Wallace closed his eyes and sighed. “We found somethin', I think you'll need to sit down.”

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“Logan, this is beautiful!” Veronica was awed. Logan took her to a very little beach, hidden between two cliffs, that Bobby said was perfect to surf in peace.

The beach wasn't very big, maybe a little more than 10 meters, but it was empty.

Logan placed their towels on the sand and planted the beach umbrella.

“What are you waiting for? Put on your wetsuit. I wanna try the waves!” Veronica said with a big smile. In the month and half since she had begun to surf. She had started to love it. She finally understood what Logan had tried to explain to her about feeling free and without a worry in the world while he surfed.

“Chill, Ronnie.” he smiled at her. “The waves won't disappear in seconds...”

She rolled her eyes and put her wetsuit within seconds.

“Come on, lover boy!” she was almost sure that Logan was doing it on propose to get her angry with him. Some days ago, he had said that she was even more beautiful while she was angry. “If you speed up, I'll give you a kiss.” she said doing her head tilt.

“Oh, come on, Veronica! That's not fair and you know it!” Logan was pouting, but she could see that he sped up a little.

In less than five minutes they were in the water.

“I want my kiss.” Logan was openly pouting and she thought that he was cute.

“Later, when we aren't on our boards.” she smiled and splashed him.

They surfed for a little over two hours and then lay down on the towel.

“Maybe we should put sunscreen on.” Veronica mumbled with her eyes closed and a smirk on her lips. She knew that he would love to do it.

Logan got closer to her and started to unzip her wetsuit to take it off. His hands were caressing her back.

“Give me a hand, Vee.” she scoffed but sat up to help him.

He smiled when she stood in front of him with only her skimpy bikini then let her lay down, and started to apply the sunscreen on her. Veronica could tell that he liked her bikini very much, and would like her more without it.

“Mmh...” his hands made her moans, he was giving her a sinful back rub while putting the sunscreen on her. “You're so good, I think I'll keep you as my personal slave forever, pookie,” Logan groaned, probably because she used the hated nickname.

“Yeah, what a man will do for the woman he loves.” his voice trembled a little on the last words.

“Wait. What are you saying?” Veronica turned around and pulls a little away.

Logan stared down at her for a moment, suddenly serious.

“Ah, what I'm trying to say is I'm in love with you.”

She looked up at him, her eyes sparkling. A little disbelieving, she laughed and brought her hand up to the back of his neck.

Veronica wasn't ready to say it back, not because she wasn't falling in love with him, she was already halfway there, maybe more, but, after her mom left her, she had problem expressing her feelings, so she tried a joke.

“The things guys will say to get to second base.” She pulled him into a kiss, shaking her head a little and trying to let him know what she was feeling with her actions.

In that moment she knew that she was ready to let Logan a little more in, she smiled at him and lay down on the towel, his body over hers.

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Keith closed his eyes, he was trying to not let the tears fall while the kids were in front of him.

“My baby girl...” he whispered. “She is so brave.” Wallace and Mac were to far away to hear him but Weevil did.

“What I don't understand is the way she didn't go to the Sheriff's Department, you were working there. You would have helped.”

“I wasn't the sheriff at the time, Mac, it was...” and in that second the last piece of the puzzle fell in its place. “She did. That's why she hated him so much...” Keith stood up, took his jacket and put it on. “I need to do something, Wallace, please, close the agency for the night and tell your mom that I need to talk to her about something when I come back.”

He exited the building in a rash, got in his car and started it.

The next ten minute or so were a blur of color for Keith, after he would only remember that a second he had been out of MI and the next he was in front of Inga.

“Lamb is here?” he asked her trying to be subtle on his anger.

“Yah, he is in his...” he didn't let her finish and strode towards his previous office.

Lamb looked up when the door opened and frowned at his interruption, he didn't let him even open his mouth before punching him with all his force.

“You fucking son of a bitch!” he was furious. “She told you and you did nothing!”

Lamb moaned from the pain, his nose was probably broken, but Keith could see that he seemed to understand what he was talking about because his eyes were looking anywhere but towards him.

“My daughter was raped, and you did nothing!” he screamed advancing on him. “You were too afraid of the 09ers, of losing your fucking _friends_ to care, didn't you?”

Lamb seemed to understand that it wasn't the time to try to justify himself, he simply looked at Keith and tried to defend himself from his next attack.

The next punch landed on his stomach making the Sheriff lose his breath.

“She was only a little girl in need of help, Don!” Keith was seeing red, he couldn't look at Lamb without think about his little girl, lost, hurt, in need of help and with no one that wanted to listen to her.

“She was big enough to go to the party...” Don whispered while catching his breath.

“You son of a bitch!” Keith punched him again on the face and the man lost his balance and fell down on the floor.

He was ready to kick him, but luckily for Lamb, Deputy D'Amato, chose that moment to knock on the door.

“Problem, sheriff?” Leo D'Amato entered the room.

The two man looked at each other. Keith saw the fear in the other man eyes and for a moment, a single moment, he was content. He couldn't do much more for his girl now.

“No problem, D'Amita.” Don answered sitting up.

“D'Amato.” he corrected. “If you don't need me...”

“No, stay, I have nothing else to say to _him,_ ” Keith walked away but stopped at the door at the last second. “Oh, expect me as an opponent for next election. I'll do _anything_ in my power to get you out of here,” he threw him a last disgusted glance and went away.

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Keith smiled to Alicia when he saw her waiting for him at the table.

“Bad day?” she asked, giving him a glass of wine.

“One of the worst and sadly, it won't stop,” he took a sip of wine and tried to smile a little. “I need to go to Vegas, I found someone that could help me prove that Abel Koontz isn't Lilly's killer.”

Alicia smiled and kissed him.

“So that's mean that you won't have dinner with me?”

“I'm sorry, Alicia, but the flight is in less than two hour.”

“It's okay,” she kissed him again. “You're a good man, Keith Mars.”

He smiled and went to their bedroom. He wasn't so sure about that anymore. If only he hadn’t went after Jake Kane, he should have been sitting there in that office, and he would have helped his daughter when she needed it.

Sighing he took his overnight bag, and with one last kiss, he went out again.

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Veronica smiled when she woke up. She could feel Logan spooned behind her with his arms around her waist.

She slowly turned around, and kissed him on the lips.

“Morning, sugarpuss,” he whispered then kissed her back. “You're even more beautiful this morning.”

“What a sweet talker you are.”

It wasn't the first time they had slept in the same bed, but after the previous afternoon at the beach, it seemed more special. She blushed a little, thinking about the things they had done yesterday in a very public place.

With Duncan, she had never gone beyond some heavy kissing, or so she had thought until a month and half ago.

Her smile disappeared for a second or two, but Logan saw it and hugged her to him.

“Whatever you are thinking about, Ronnie, stop.” he whispered sweetly in her ear. “No one can hurt you here.”

She was a little surprised. Logan seemed to always know what to say to make her feel better. Her mind turned on the pleasant memories of the day before.

Logan had been a gentleman and let her set the pace. She had asked him to touch her, and she didn't regret it for a second. He had made her come with his finger more times that she can remember, she had loved it and had happily returned the favor.

Veronica blushed again, the memories were making her horny.

“I can see you blush, sugarpuss, and I'm sure that I know what you are thinking about,” he had a wolfish grin on his beautiful face, he looked her up and down, almost like he could see under the sheets, her tank, and shorts. “I would gladly give you a practical demonstration of these thoughts, but we need to go to work.” he was pouting by the end of his speech, and she couldn't stop herself from kissing him.

“Darn, you're so cute,” she mocked him.

“Men aren't cute,” he answered offended. “We are handsome!”

Veronica giggled and used her pillow to smack him on the head.

“Get dressed, handsome one, I'll make you breakfast.” she got up and, after a brief kiss, went in the kitchen smiling.

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The car stopped in front of the gates of the Sunset Cliffs.

Lianne Mars got out of it, a little trolley in her hand, she smiled and opened the gate.

She still remembered where Keith used to put the second key for the emergencies; it was under one of their neighbour's vase.

“Keith?” she closed the door behind her. “Veronica? I'm home.”

No one answered her so she went in her daughter's room. It was very different from what she remembered; there were a lot of new photo of her daughter with a girl with blue streaks and a black boy with a very kind smile.

Lianne got out of the room and went in the other one.

Keith room was strangely empty. She opened the closet and find only some changes inside, a lot of photos were absent from the dresser. The only one present were the ones with herself. She rubbed a finger on the dresser, it was dusty.

Lianne wasn't stupid. No one had been in the house for days.

She put down her bag and lay on the bed; she needed to find where her family was.

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The next day the front page of Neptune newspaper read: _Eyewitness Steps Forward: Escort claims she was with Koontz at time of Kane murder._

The story gave more than one proof.

“There are phone records, man,” Cassidy seemed concerned. “An-an-and how do you-how do you explain the shoes, huh?” he asked his brother.

“It doesn’t mean jack. You need to chill out, Beav, right now. To the grave, man, that’s what we said.”

Cassidy didn't seem convinced by his argument and Dick knew that he couldn't easily change his brother mind.

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“Since his removal from office, Keith Mars, the ousted sheriff, has tirelessly and single-handedly continued his own investigation, despite being shunned by the community at large,” Wallace was reading from the newspaper.

“That almost is a love letter to Mr Mars,” Weevil said grinning. “I would have paid to see the pendejo's face this mornin'.”

“Me too,” Mac was smiling from ear to ear.

“All I know is if I were him right now, I’d be I-told-you-soing all over Neptune.”

The bell rang and the mixed group split to go to their respective classroom.

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Lianne went inside Mars Investigation, she knew that Keith would be at work.

“ _I'm coming!”_ his voice came from his office.

She didn't wait for him and knocked on the door of his office.

“I said...” Keith looked up and finally noticed her. “What are you doing here?” his voice became cold.

“We need to talk.”

“No, we don't,” his voice was devoid of emotions and she shivered under his cold stare.

“We are married Keith,” she tried to smile. “We have a daughter.”

“I filed a divorce on ground of abandonment, so we're not,” she was baffled by his answer.

“What?” she paled when the meaning of his statement got to her brain.

“You heard me.” Keith crossed his arms.

“Veronica didn't tell you about the rehab?”

“Yes, she did. That's why I filed it,” he could see disappointment in his eyes now.

“I don't understand, Keith.”

“You know, I wanted to give you a chance, for Veronica's happiness.” he shook his head. “You know, I was ready to break up with Alicia, a woman who I love and who loves me back when Veronica told me about the rehab. Then I remembered about who you are and I asked your sponsor to let me know about your progress,” she paled again knowing what he would say. “I wasn't really surprised when he called me and said that you left rehab. I bet that if I ask for your purse, I'll find one bottle of alcohol at least.” Lianne couldn't look him in the eyes, he was right.

“It's hard...”

“I know, but that's not an excuse, not anymore,” Keith sighed. “If you are here to try to be a mother for Veronica, I'm okay with it. You can live in the old apartment but we won't be together. I love Alicia.”

Lianne tried to hide her anger at Keith. She couldn't understand how he could love someone else. He had been in love with her for years, and even after her affair with Jake he hadn't left her. He was her safe port.

“But I love you, Keith,” she looked at him trying to let him see her sadness.

“No, you don't,” he scoffed. “You love what I can give you. A home, security and love but you don't love me; you can't because you still love Jake.”

He was right, but Celeste had cut the monthly income that Jake had given her for the past year. She needed a place and money.

“Where is Veronica? I want to talk with her.”

“You can't,” he sat on the couch.

“She is my daughter, I have the right to see her!”

“Yes, you have,” Keith admitted. “But you can't physically see her. She ran away a month and half ago.”

“What?” she exclaimed.

“She run away with Logan. They were in a dark place and needed an out from Neptune.”

“And you let her go?” she was furious, he wasn't even her real father and he let her go.

“No, I didn't. They _ran_ away, I tried to find them but Veronica is a very bright PI. She know how to disappear.”

“How could you let _my_ daughter do something like this?”

“She is my daughter too!” he screamed back.

“No she isn't!” Lianne knew that she said the wrong thing.

“What?” Keith squeezed her arm a little painfully.

“She is Jake's daughter,” she was whispering.

“You did a test?”

“No, but...”

“Then you don't know! And even if I'm not her biological father she is _mine,_ and I'll fight for her if I need to.”

Lianne got up and ran out of the door.

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Wallace came back home and found Keith crying on his mom's shoulder.

“What's up? It's Veronica?” he asked concerned.

Alicia looked her partner in the eyes and when he nodded to her she asked him to sit down.

“Lianne, Veronica's mom, is in town.”

“You are leaving us?” he asked to Keith.

“No, son,” he smiled a little. “I don't love her anymore, I would have gone back to her for Veronica but she didn't even finish rehab, and I love your mother too much. I'm selfish.”

“Then what?”

“She... she came to the office, we were fighting and she said that maybe Veronica is Jake's,” more tears were running down his cheeks and Wallace felt bad for him.

“What will you do?”

“A test, I already sent a DNA sample to a genetic laboratory. The results will be back in a week.”

Wallace walked to him and hugged him.

“I'm sorry,” he whispered after letting him go. “But I'm almost sure that she is yours.” Keith smiled a little at his affirmation.

“Thank you, son.”

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Cassidy looked in front of him, the sheriff's department of Neptune seemed to wait for him.

Things were surely going well. Keith Mars gave him a distraction for that noisy friends of Veronica.

He walked inside and spoke to the old woman at the front desk. She called the sheriff and let him in one of the interrogation rooms.

“So boy, my secretary says that you have new information for me on Lilly Kane's case.”

“Yeah, I do.” Cassidy started to tell his tale and smiled evilly when the sheriff got out of the room with a new suspect for Lilly's death.

Things were going better.


	11. Chapter 11

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> I added another chapter before this one!

**11\. Results**

 

Logan was going to work after leaving Veronica to the Cafe when he saw the paper in one of the newsstands.

Lilly’s face was in the front page of OK!. Logan bought it and started to read.

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“Oh man, I hate history.”

“You hate all subjects, Wallace.” Mac smiled at him.

“A'right but history is the worst ever.”

Mac knows that he was hiding something from her.

They were in the middle of May and more than a week had passed from the day in which they had found out about Veronica's rape.

Two days after the newspaper article about Abel Koontz, Wallace and Mac had found Duncan Kane naked and duct taped to the flag pole. Scum had been written on his chest with red paint.

They had known that it was Weevil's work, but they couldn't find in themselves the will to help him.

From that day on Wallace had been strange, on the edge.

“Hey Weevil.” Mac greeted him when he came to the table.

“Mac, Fennel.” he gave them his usual smirk but then he started to fidget a little. “I need a favor.”

“Shoot, man.”

“I need help with Math, my grandma will have my ass if I don't pass this year.”

“Man, I can't help you. Veronica's the math little genius.”

“I can,” Mac smiled at Weevil. “Maybe I'm not as good as her but I have straight As.”

“I'll pay you,” he assured her with a serious face.

“That you'll do.” she smiled. “After school? Today?”

“My home or here?”

“Here, I'll wait in the quad.”

“Thanks Mac.” he walked away rising his hand and waving good bye.

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“Finally!” Logan exclaimed when Veronica came to the beach to have lunch with him.

“I'm only five minutes late, lover boy,” she smiled.

“Look.” he gave her the magazine and let her read the news.

“He did it!” Veronica was happy to know that Lilly's case was reopened thanks to her dad.

“So it was true,” she could see that Logan wasn't happy.

“What are you thinking?” she asked, taking one of his hands in hers.

“I need to tell you something,” he looked down. “I think that when we'll go back home, I'll have some problem.”

“Why?”

“I wasn't in Mexico that day,” she paled a little but didn't let him go. For a fraction of a second she thought that he had killed Lilly, but then she almost laughed at the insanity of the thought. Logan wasn't that kind of a boyfriend; even if they were broken up at the time, he couldn't have killed her.

Maybe if she still thought about Logan as a psychotic jackass, she would have believed it, but she knew better after their month together.

“Where were you?”

“You know, I... I knew Lilly was seeing someone. It was driving me crazy. When I left for Neptune, I didn’t know if I was gonna scream at her for treating me like dirt or beg her to take me back,” He looked up at Veronica and sniffed to stop the tears. “And I saw her at the carwash.”

“I didn't see you there.” she said matter-of-factly

“Well, I just parked across the street and watched her. And this feeling came over me, you know, I don’t…I don’t know how to describe it but I just knew it was over. So I sat in my car and I wrote this note to her, explaining it,” he smiled a little.

“Did you give it to her?” she started to think about the list of things her dad team had found out in Lilly's car and room.

“Yeah, I left it in the car with a shot glass,” he looked at her and she hoped that he could tell that she believed him. “You know, if you read that letter, you’d know I’d never hurt her.”

“I believe you,” she kissed him and smiled. “My dad found a shot glass but I can't remember a letter in the list of things found in her room or car.”

“Maybe she threw it away?”

“It's a possibility.”

“Or maybe she hid it.”

“Maybe,” she sighed. “Look, we can't do anything from here, we'll face this problem when we'll go back,” she kissed him again and they pretty much forgot about anything else for a while.

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Wallace was the first to come back home, and, as always that week, he looked for mail from  _Unified Genetics_. The results were late because some protest or another.

He was looking absently to the various bills when he found what they were waiting for.

The envelope wasn't big or showy, it was little and brown, with the name of the labs on the upper left corner, the stamp on the opposite one, and the words:  _results confidential_ in the bottom left one.

Wallace was very curious, he wanted to find out the truth, but he knew that Keith had the right to be the first, so he went inside, left the letter on the kitchen counter, and went in his room to do his homework.

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“Logan, why we are here?” she asked her boyfriend. He had dragged her in front of Charleston's multiplex.

“We need to buy the ticket for  _Star Wars,_ ” he said it like it was obvious. “If we don't buy it now, we won't be able to get tickets.”

Veronica rolled her eyes, but went with him inside to buy their tickets. She was excited too; she had liked the first five films very much and it didn't hurt that Anakin was a hottie.

She was surprised to find out that the tickets were almost sold-out.

“Told you so, sugarpuss,” he sing-songed when they were going back home. “And we got them only 'cuz we'll go to the two o'clock show.”

“Okay, you were right, I was wrong.”

“Be still, my heart, she said that she was wrong!” he mocked her.

“I think you need to stop to making fun of me, buddy, or else someone won't sleep in my bed,” she tilted her head and smiled evilly at him.

“Okay, I'm shutting up,” he mimed zipping his mouth.

“Good boy,” she patted him on the thigh and smiled.

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“Wallace, come here, son.” Keith called the teenager from the kitchen.

“ _Comin',”_ he appeared in less than five seconds, eager to know the results. “Have you read it?”

“Veronica is my daughter!”

Wallace smiled and patted Keith on the shoulder.

“I'm happy, man.”

“Thank you, Wallace,” he said while he hugged his mother. “I'm so happy.”

“Can I tell all this to Mac? She nagged me all week to know why I was so nervous.”

“I have no problem, I would scream it from the roof if I didn't know that no one but Lianne and Jake would care,” he smiled and hugged him. “Thank you again, for waiting to open it, and for your support.”

“No prob, man.” Wallace smiled again and went back in his room, probably understanding the need for the two adults to be together.

“I'm so happy for you, honey,” Alicia kissed him. “I think we need to celebrate a little. Dinner and dance?”

“I'm in, baby.” he twirled her and laughed.

“I'll go ask Wallace for babysitting Darryl.”

“I'll make a reservation.”

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Veronica arrived first at the door of their apartment. She opened it and got in.

When she switched on the light, what she saw around her took her breath away. There was a bouquet of flower on the table where dinner was ready for them.

“How did you do it?” she asked when she felt Logan's arms embrace her.

“Lydia helped me,” he was kissing her neck and she could feel the smile on his lips.

Veronica took the flowers and smiled. There were red roses, white lilies and orchids.

“It's beautiful,” she kissed him with passion and they almost forgot their surroundings.

“We need to eat or our dinner...” she shut him up with a kiss.

“I don't care.”

“So you don't want even your gift?” he said smiling. He knew her.

“Gimme, gimme!” she started to jump on the place.

“Jeez, Ronnie, you’re like a little kid,” Logan laughed at her childish behavior, but took her in his old room.

On the bed, there were two beautiful surfboards.

“Yours is the red one.” he told her.

The board were white with stylized lilies, red for her and blue for him.

“You like it? I thought about it, and in the end we'll spend less this way.” he started to blather while he hugged her from behind. “I did the lilies, Bobby taught me how to do it, I bought two white boards and then I did the design.”

She was without word so she simply took his hands and walked out of the bedroom.

“Where are we going?”

“Our room...” she grinned at him and opened the door.

“But dinner...”

“We'll eat later, now I want to let you know how much I liked your gift.” she closed the door and pushed her boyfriend on the bed with an evil smile on her lips.

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Meg was happy.

She was on Duncan's bed, his arms around her. They were making out like the teenagers that they were and she liked it.

It was so much more passionate than with Cole. Duncan made her feel alive with his kisses, and she was starting to think that maybe she was in love with him.

“You're beautiful,” he whispered in her ear, making her blush.

His hands were on her waist and were stroking her flesh under the shirt.

“Duncan...” she moaned his name and squeezed him in her embrace.

“I want to make love to you, Meg.”

She was about to say that she wasn't ready, but Duncan kissed her again making her forget what she wanted to tell.

His hands began to lift her shirt and when he needed to stop kissing her to take it out she came back to earth.

“Stop,” she said without breath.

“Why?” Meg could tell that he was frustrated, and she felt a little bad for him, but she wasn't ready to take a step that big.

“I'm not ready, Duncan,” she said to him.

“Why? I love you, Meg.”

Her eyes watered a little at his admission, and her heart started to beat faster from the happiness, but she knew that if she would have sex with him in that moment, she would have regretted it because she still didn't feel ready.

“I think I love you too, Duncan, but I'm still not ready,” she kissed him on the lips and stood up. “I need to go or we'll do something that we'll regret in the morning.”

Duncan squeezed her hand and smiled a little.

“Okay, I understand. Do you want to go out tomorrow?”

“I'd like it very much,” Meg kissed him a last time on the lips and got out.

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“It was fantastic!”

Logan smiled at her girlfriend.

“Yeah, but I still think that the first trilogy was better,” he took her hands and smiled. “And admit it, the only reason you like the second one more is because of the actor who plays Anakin.”

“That's not true!” she said with fake outrage.

Logan laughed and Veronica joined him.

“What do you think they are doing?” she asked after they stopped.

He didn't need to ask her of who she was talking about, he knew that she missed her friends and her dad.

“I think your dad is cleaning his shotgun, for when we'll go back.” he joked.

“You're so funny, pookie,” he grunted when she used the hated nickname.

“The truth?” she nodded. “I think your dad is trying to find out why we run away and your friends will help him. Dick is probably at some party doing some Dick things.”

“I miss them,” she looked down a little sad.

“I'm sorry...”

“For what?” she was confused.

“If it wasn't for me you could go back and...” he didn't end the phrases because Veronica kissed him.

“I'm still not ready to go home,” she was breathless when she started to talk. “And even if I was I would not leave you. We're in this together, do you remember?”

He smiled at her. She was something else, and he loved her more every day that they were together.

  
  



	12. Chapter 12

  
  


**12\. Young Love**

  
  


“Okay, what's a function?”

“It's... a special relationship...” Weevil briefly stopped, asking Mac with his silence if he was right. “Between values and... and each of its input values gives back exactly one output value?”

“Good!” Mac beamed with pride. “Now try to say it as if it isn't all a big question.” She smiled and he knew that she was joking.

“Yes, Ma'am.” He then repeated the whole sentence with more confidence.

“You're really getting it! You'll ace the final test next week.”

Weevil looked down, trying to hide the fact that he was blushing a little at her praise.

“It's thanks to you, chica,” he smirked, knowing that she didn't like it when he called her chica.

“Stop calling me chica, _Eli_ ,” her words wiped away his smirk and made her smile at his reaction.

“You're no fun, _Mac,”_ he rolled his eyes but smiled.

In the past week they had studied math together all the afternoons for at least an hour. At the start they both had been a little reticent, but now they were okay. Weevil actually understood what she says to him, and he liked her almost fun approach to the subject.

He had found out that he liked to spend time with Mac, she was funny, smart and had a type of humor similar to his own.

When she had confessed to him that she and Veronica had bonded over Vee not revealing that Mac was behind the purity test he had been shocked.

If you didn't know her, Mac would pass as a kind, shy, and quit girl but she was not.

She was kind with her friends but she could also be truly wicked if she was provoked.

She was shy only when it was beneficial to her, like when she wanted to go unnoticed by the Neptune High crowd.

She was quiet only when she had nothing to say or she didn't really care to answer.

And it didn't hurt that she was beautiful.

Weevil had already known that he was attracted to her, and now that he knew her better he began to think that he would very much like to go out with her.

They studied for another twenty minutes and then started to talk about various things. Weevil's head began to form a plan.

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Logan had been watching the TV when a loud knocking at his door made him jump.

“Comin'!” He got up and ran to the door, thinking that Veronica came back home a little early from her girls night out with two of her work's friends.

When he opened the door he was stupefied to see Lydia smiling from ear to ear.

“Hi, Lydia,” he smiled and let her in. “Victoria is not here if you are looking for her.”

“Oh, too bad for her,” Logan smile became even bigger, seeing her jump around like a child. “I have big, happy news!”

“Then what are you waiting for, I'm all ears.” Logan sat on a chair, put his hands under his chin and made his I'm-mocking-you face. Lydia actually smiled more and he started to think that if she didn't stop, her face would freeze that way.

“I'm pregnant!” she exclaimed, literally jumping on him.

Logan laughed and hugged her back happy for her.

“Congratulation! Do you want to wait for Victoria?”

“Nah, I'm tired and I'm sure that when she'll be back, she won't have me around. Not with a hottie like you at her beck and call.” Her words actually made him blush and she laughed at him when she noticed. “Bye Lolo.”

“Not you too!” he screamed at her while she exited the apartment still laughing. “Women.”

He shook his head and went back at his film; in his mind thoughts of little kids with brown hair and blue eyes.

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“I was thinkin'...” Weevil rubbed his neck when Mac looked him in the eyes. “You told me that you like that film, Star somethin' very much, so I was thinkin' that maybe you want to see it again... my treat?” he smirked trying to hide his nervousness.

He could easily see that she was shocked by his invite so he didn't think about it too much when she hesitated to answer his question.

“You'll even buy popcorn?” she finally said after one whole minute of silence.

“Yeah.”

“Then you have a deal,” she smiled and Weevil thought that she was beautiful when she looked happy. “Tomorrow, maybe after we study?”

“Sounds good, and after we could go to Luigi's to eat somethin'.” He blushed a little, hoping that his darker skin would hide it. “Vee told me that they do a vegan lasagna that is to die for, and if there is one thing that girl knows, it's her food.”

“You're not kidding! I think I saw her eat her weight in lasagna more than one time.” They laughed at the joke to their mutual friend.

“Then it's settled. We'll go after tutoring tomorrow.”

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“She's what?” Veronica was very surprised when Logan told her about Lydia's news.

“Pregnant, you know, with a bun in the oven, knocked up, with child, manufacturing a little human being...” She stopped him with a light slap on the arm.

“You're a jackass, you know?” she said, trying to be serious but failed miserably and started to laugh with him. “You sure know a lot of terms to say pregnant.”

“What can I say, I'm simply awesome.”

“Yeah, and you are so very modest,” she rolled her eyes. “Now let me get ready to go to bed, the girls sucked all the energy out of me tonight.”

Logan opened his arm and let her go change in her night clothes, which nowadays only consisted of one of his t-shirts and her panties. She knew that she was making him crazy with her skimpy attire but she loved to feel her skin on his.

Logan followed her to bed shortly after, and he put his arms around her and after a sweet kiss, said that he loved her.

Her heart swelled at his word, and she really wanted to say them back to him, but she was still a little afraid that if she told him she loved him, he would disappear.

That night, her dreams were with images of white dresses, a little child with brown hair and eyes running gleefully around her while she was greeted with Logan, more matured, and staring at her.

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Mac turned to look at Weevil. He seemed to have fun watching Star Wars. Sometimes he asked her some questions about things he couldn't understand because he has seen only the first film of the second trilogy.

She smiled and went back to watch the film. They shared the popcorn and at the end of the first part Weevil proposed to buy more because they had already finished it.

Mac looked at him as he walked out of the doors. He was dressed differently than normal. He had his jeans and boots but he discarded his leather jacket and black t-shirt for a white one and a gray hoodie.

He had taken off the hoodie after he came inside the building and she admitted that she liked very much how the white t-shirt showed his chest and arms. Never before that week had she noticed how attractive he was.

When he came back in the room, she blushed a little. She was nervous when he saw her looking and even drooling a little.

After the film, he took her to Luigi's and they had dinner in a comfortable silence. They started to talk only when the dessert was brought to them.

Weevil talked about his grandma, his cousin and they way he feels when he rides his bike.

Mac told him about her little, noisy brother that she loved very much, some of her adventures with Veronica and her passion for books and films.

When he took her back home in the borrowed car of his grandma she was a little nervous.

Looking back at the time they had spent together, she could see that it all sort of resembled a date and she was a little anxious. She didn't know what to expect from him as the date ended. She didn't know if she would like to be kissed by Weevil.

“I had fun,” she murmured when he opened the door of the car for her.

“Me too. I had to admit, it wasn't a bad film,” he smirked and closed the door.

“See you tomorrow?”

“Same time, same place,” he confirmed.

Mac started to walk on the alleyway, towards her house's door, when she felt Weevil hand on her arm. Before she could even think about asking what he was doing, she felt his warm lips on her.

Her eyes widened but when one of his hand touched her cheek. She closed her eyes and began to kiss him back.

She could feel him smile when she became an active participant in the kiss, his other hand was stroking her waist and her heart started to beat furiously in her chest.

When their mouth parted, her breathing was labored and her head was dizzy.

“Goodnight,” he whispered in her ear before giving her a last little peck on the lips.

Mac entered her house, went upstairs and closed the door of her room behind her; her hand was touching her lips as to assure herself that she didn't dream any of it.

She lay on the bed and smiled thinking that she received her first real kiss from the local gang leader, the bad boy, but she knew the truth now.

Weevil wasn't only a biker or a gang leader, he was so much more.

He loved his grandmother so much that he wanted to pass at school to make her happy.

He loved his little cousins like brothers and sisters and he took good care of them.

He was a good friend, loyal and brave.

He may put on the facade of the bad boy, but behind it there was a caring person only waiting for the right time and place to come out. He let her see the man behind and she liked him very much. She now knew what Veronica had seen in him, why she helped him, why she had become his friend.

He needed to be strong in front of the other biker, to inspire fear in other people, but he wasn't a bad person. Not at all.

She took the phone out of her pocket and started to dial a number when she remembered that no one would answer her.

Mac hugged her pillow and sighed. She was happy, but she missed her friend.

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On Sunday morning OK! Magazine front page read: _Young and Deadly? Hollywood son Logan Echolls has no alibi on day of girlfriend’s death and is now on the run, sources reveal_ _Logan Echolls, son of actors Aaron and Lynn Echolls, has no alibi for the time of death of his on-again off-again girlfriend Lilly Kane. Maybe young Logan went from rebellious son to murderer?_

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Monday morning, all the talks at Neptune High were around the new suspect in the Lilly's case.

Mac and Wallace were baffled at how fast some of Logan's friend started to badmouth him now that he wasn't here to defend himself.

Mac couldn't really think that Logan had murdered someone. She had seen him with Lilly in the past years. Even if their relationship hadn’t been a healthy one, Mac knew that he loved Lilly very much.

Cassidy confessed to them the whole story- that Logan had come back from Mexico that day because he had wanted to see Lilly and how they had found him later that night on the beach, a bottle of tequila in his hands and tears on his face. They never asked him what happened and, the day after, when they had been interrogated had lied for him.

Mac had seen that after hearing Cassidy's story, some of Wallace's anxiety seemed to disappear. When she asked why, he said that if Cassidy had been telling the truth, Logan didn't actually ask for Cassidy and Dick to lie for him; they just did it. That didn't make him believe that Logan was a good person, or even that he didn't do it, but it gave him a little more faith in Veronica's judgment. He didn't correct the Sheriff when he had interrogated him on the facts, but he didn't even was the one to lie about it in the first place.

Thinking about it Mac could see that Logan had been put in a bad place. Correcting the statements of his friends and the fact that he was really in Neptune could have make him the perfect suspect, she could that even if Mr. Mars wouldn't have crucified him, Lamb would have done it.

Logan was only a kid, he probably didn't even remembered that day at the time, he was scared and when someone had given him a shortcut to get out of it he had taken it without a second tought.

When lunch hour came, Mac became very nervous.

After their “date” on Friday, Weevil had called her to tell her that he couldn't study with her on Saturday, and so she hadn't seen him during the weekend.

He was at his table, with his friends, but when he saw her came in the quad, he got up and started to walk towards her.

“Hey Fennel,” he waved at Wallace then turned toward her, a boyish smirk on his lips. “Mac. Can we talk for a minute?” she nodded, not sure that her voice would work.

He took her hand and led her under the bleachers.

“I wanted to do this all the weekend,” he said, before crashing his lips on hers.

She was again surprised by the kiss, but this time she reacted in less time. She grabbed his t-shirt and pulled him nearer while his hands went around her, hugging her for dear life.

When his tongue brushed against her lower lip, she opened her mouth a little, letting him inside. She didn't know what to do, but Weevil seemed very willing to teach her.

His taste was addicting and his smell around her was clouding her mind. When they came up for air, she rested her forehead against his.

“I thought that you regretted kissing me...” she whispered when her brain started to work again.

“I'm sorry if you thought that, but my grandma wasn't feeling so well and I needed to watch my cousins.” he grunted at the end. “I swear, at the end of the day I could have killed 'em all.”

Mac giggled and give him a peck on the lips.

“So... I was thinking... would you like to go out again tomorrow after school?” He had a smirk on his face, but Mac could hear a little nervousness in his voice.

“Yeah.”

“Good,” he grinned again and kissed her one last time. “We need to go back or you want have enough time to eat lunch.”

They went back to the quad and sat down beside Wallace. No one said a word about the fact that Weevil, the PCHers leader, was having lunch in a different table from his friends.

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“I hate the beard,” Veronica said pouting when Logan kissed her.

“Me too, sugarlips, but we talked about it, we can't risk someone identifying me.” He took his hand in his and brought it to his lips.

“It’s the end of May already...” she said looking far away. “We’ve been on the lam for almost three month.”

“It's not even June, it's only two and half months,” he mocked her.

“Whatever,” she yawned. “Can we go home? I'm tired.”

Logan agreed with her, and after they gathered their things, he drove them home. Veronica fell asleep during the travel and woke up only when Logan laid her on the mattress.

“I need to shower,” she murmured more asleep then not.

“Want a hand to wash those hard to reach places?” Logan smirked at her and she mustered up the strength to slap him on the arm.

“I'm too tired to say no. Wash me, slave,” she mumbled sitting up.

“As you wish, mistress.”

Logan took her in his arms and went in the bathroom. He started the water then undressed them and, taking her back in his arms, went under the warm spray.

When his hands touched those _hard to reach_ places, she completely woke up and took part in the fun.

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“Ask me the news, baby.” Wallace sat himself near Mac and Weevil. He looked at him a little, it was the second time that he sat with them that week and he and Mac didn't even study together anymore.

“What's the news, Wally?” she conceded.

“This fine man has a hot date tonight with one of the most beautiful creatures on this earth.” he was smiling from ear to ear.

“Nice, Fennel, who is the unlucky one?” Weevil joked and Mac laughed with him.

“Jeez man, ya're so mean.” Wallace smirked and patted him on his shoulder. “Only 'cuz I found a babe and ya don't...”

“Don't be a sissy, man.”

Mac blushed a little at their topic and rolled her eyes when they started the alpha male posturing.

“Oh, shut up you both.” she said after a while. “Just stop and kiss it better.”

“What you said ain't right, Mac,” Wallace shook his head to clear it from the thought.

“I can tell you, man. You don't have the right... parts to my liking. I like my woman more feisty and with the right curves.” The biker looked at Mac when he said his last sentence.

“Oh, please, stop it, just tell him and reassert your status as the more manly man.” She rolled again her eyes while she slapped his shoulder lightly.

Weevil shook his shoulder and kissed her, making words useless.

“Woah.... when did that happen?” Wallace put his hands in front of his eyes. “And please, man, stop it. It’s like seeing someone kiss my sister!”

Mac started to laugh hard, effectively stopping the kiss.

“About a week ago.” Weevil said proudly.

“I'm happy for you, but let me tell ya, if you hurt her I'll find a way to make you pay.”

The biker nodded and put an arm around Mac, letting him know that he won’t.

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After Keith had sent the paternity results to Lianne a week ago, he hadn't heard or seen her again, so he decided to go to his apartment to see if she was up to something.

When he entered he knew that Lianne wasn't there anymore. He found a letter on the counter addressed to Veronica and him.

  
  


_Keith and Veronica,_

_I'm weak, I can't stay here._

_I'm sorry to leave you again, Veronica._

_But there is no place for me here._

_Love,_

_Mom_

  
  


Keith was furious. She had written only three phrases to part with her family again. She had run again from her responsibility. He shook his head and put the little piece of paper in Veronica's bedroom and went away.

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She watched him leave the apartment in Sunset Cliffs with a disgusted and furious expression on his face.

Lianne waited for him to drive away before starting her car and dialing the number of the only person in the world that would give her money.

“ _What do you want, bitch?_ ” the voice responded.

“I need money.”

“ _Your pathetic excuse for a husband didn't help you?_ ” the seething in her voice oozed from the speaker.

“Let Jake give me back the monthly payment and I'll let you leave your life without telling to the magazines that Veronica is his daughter.” She hoped Celeste would not be able to see through her lies, but Lianne was desperate enough to blackmail her. Knowing that Veronica wasn't Jake's daughter almost broke her. She couldn't face her again knowing that she now was the proof of her betrayal to her lover, knowing that Celeste had given him something that she hadn't.

“ _I'll do it, but if you try to contact me or my husband again I'll kill you Lianne. I already lost a daughter, I won’t let you wreck this family more._ ”

She rolled her eyes but let it go, knowing that in less than a month, Jake would come find her and things would go back as they were.

“Okay.”

Celeste hung her phone and Lianne sighed in relief. Things will get better.

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It was the first weekend of June and they were passing it just lazing it out at home; it was so hot outside that even the thought of surfing didn't persuade them to face the hour long trip to the beach.

“What do you want to see next? _Breakfast Club_ or a _Walk to Remember_?”

“ _Breakfast Club_ for me. No way I'm watching that pansy film again, one time was enough.”

Veronica grunted but put the first one in and then went back in his arms.

“I swear, next money I spend it will be to buy a fucking conditioner.”

Veronica smiled at him and tried to calm him down a little using her finger to draw little circle on his thigh.

“You know that you aren't helping, right, Bobcat?” He asked when her hand started to go higher.

She looked at him innocently and gave him a little smile.

“Are you sure?” Her hand went higher until she was almost groping him. “Because I was thinking that this way I could make you forget about how hot it is outside.”

“Veronica, if you don't stop now, I'll lose it,” he gasped when her hand reached his groin and looked at her with dark, lustful eyes.

Veronica smirked and wasn't surprised when she found herself trapped with her back on the couch and a very horny Logan Echolls over her.

“Do you trust me?” he asked her.

“Always.” she whispered and then watched Logan taking her shirt off her and kissing a path down on her chest and her abdomen.

He stopped at the waistband of her shorts and looked at her. He asked if she really wanted to go on.

Veronica trembled a little at the thought of what Logan wanted to do. She was excited and at the same time she was scared. Would he like her down here? Would he find her taste horrible? Would she be good enough?

She was thinking all that over and over in her mind, but when her eyes found his again, every doubt seemed to disappear. He loved her and wanted to do it for her.

“Please, Logan...” she whispered. “I want to.”

He smiled, took off her shorts and panties, and took her to heaven and back.


	13. Worries

**13\. Worries**

  
  


“It's only some lines of fever, Veronica, I'm not dying.” Logan smiled from the bed when Veronica came in, bringing his breakfast with her.

Two days ago he had started to have a little throat ache, he hadn't thought much about it, but when he had begun to cough, he had seen that Veronica had become strangely worried about him. At the start he hadn't understood why, but then she explained that getting really sick while on the lam was very dangerous because, if he got worst, they would need a doctor, and they would need to find one that, for a right amount of money, won't ask lots of questions.

“I know, but you need to rest, so I called Bobby and I said that you won't go to work today and probably even tomorrow,” she tried to give him one of her fake smiles, but he could see through her facade. “If it don't get better we'll need to find a doctor. I already started some research...”

“How?” he interrupted her. “I mean, how can you find a doctor that won't ask question?”

“I have my way,” she smiled again, and this time Logan could tell that it was a real one. “You only need to look for the right things while asking the right questions. I'll teach you when you'll get better my grasshopper. Now I really need to go to work, someone needs to bring money home in this house.”

“Have a good day at work, sugarpuss!” Logan smiled, he knew that she was blushing at the nickname, even if he couldn't see her. After that day in the sitting room, the term brought back some very delicious memories, and he loved to remind her of it every occasion he had.

  
  


In the next two days Logan seemed to get better and Veronica's fears subsided. He went back to work and their life got back to normal in no time.

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“Hi,” Carmen sat down in the quad near Mac and Weevil. “Have you see that fine young man that call himself my boyfriend?”

“If you mean Wallace then I know that he was needed by the principal for something. Don't ask me what, I don't know.” Mac answered her with a little smile.

“I come here to make him a surprise and he isn't even here,” she rolled her eyes. “Typical.”

“How it is treatin' you life after high school?” Weevil asked smiling at Carmen.

“I have lot of free time, time that I would like to spend with my idiot boyfriend...” she smirked when saw Wallace coming towards them with his lunch.

“Hi, beautiful, what a surprise seeing ya here.” he sat down near his girl and gave her a brief kiss. “I thought that you'll want to stay as far away from this hellhole.”

“What can I say, I missed you...” she made pouty lips and Wallace grinned.

“Hear that, dude? I'm the man.”

“You're insufferable, Wallace,” Mac giggled and stroke Weevil thigh under the table.

“I second that,” Carmen nodded. “I was thinking about having a very private party to celebrate the end of my time here. Dinner and then movies at my house.”

“I'm in, baby.” Wallace kissed her again. “Ya comin'?”

Mac looked at Weevil, knowing that he wasn't really relaxed with what he probably saw as a double date.

“ **It's okay for me,** _ **chica**_ **.” he smiled a little, kissed his girl and then got up. “Wanna chat with the guys a little, you mind?”**

Mac smiled and shook her head, knowing that he need some only guys time after accepting Carmen's idea.

“Man, I never thought that I'll see the day when Weevil Navarro would accept to go out on a double,” said Wallace smirking. “You have him on a tight leash, Mac!”

“ **Oh, shout up,** _ **Wally.”**_ **she punched his shoulder and laughed at his fake outraged face.**

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“Are you trying to kill me, Echolls?” Veronica asked while trying to bring back her breath to a normal pace.

“Yes, sugarpuss, and I'll make it so beautiful that you'll die as a very happy woman.” he smirked evilly at her and the licked his lips. “Did you like it?”

She blushed hard and turned her face. There was no way that she could answer that question looking him in the eyes.

“I-I like it.” she whispered shyly. “Everything that I... we do h-here, it's feel right to me.”

She watched his face, wanting to see his response at her word, he smiled at her from ear to ear and then started to kiss her with renewed passion.

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“Logan, I'm getting worried. This is the second time in less then two weeks, and now it seem even worst. Your fever is higher and your throat is very red. We need to go to the doctor and find out what's wrong.” Veronica took away the thermometer from his mouth and changed the wet cloth from his forehead.

“It's nothing, bobcat...” he whispered, even talking had become a difficult task in the last day. His throat ached so bad that he could eat only fluid food and even that sometimes made it hurt, but he didn't want to scare her more than she already was.

“I won't hear it, Logan. We'll go.” she kissed him on the cheek. “I already called and took an appointment for tomorrow at seven. We'll need to leave very early because his office is in New York.” Logan nodded, deciding to avoid to use his voice when he could. “We'll stay there the night so I'll go pack a bag. You try to rest.”

He smiled at her and closed his eyes. Her hand stroked his cheek with kindness and he couldn't stop the smile that took over his face.

Hoping that whatever he had wasn't something too bad, he let sleep claim him.

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“Did you had fun?” Mac took Weevil hands. They were walking under the star after the movie night at Carmen.

“Wasn't bad,” he smirked and gave her a kiss on the forehead. “The movie wasn't a chick flick and Carmen is a great cook.”

Mac smiled at him, she was happy that he wasn't annoyed. They got in her car and went back to her house where he left his bike.

“Wanna go for a ride?” he asked when the time come for him to say goodbye. Mac was very unsure, her mom didn't like bikes. “I even have a helmet for you...” he took out a black helmet with a green fantasy on it and Mac knew without asking that he bought it for her.

“Yes...” she whispered, awe in her voice. “But a short one.”

“No prob, _querida._ ” he kissed her passionately and then helped her put on the helmet.

Mac didn't really know what that mean, she had taken french as second language, but she liked the sound of it.

She climbed on the bike behind him, her heart was already running.

“Hold on tight!” when Weevil felt her arms tightly wrapped around his waist he started his bike and they speed away in the warm night.

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“Mr. Taylor, what you have is Streptococcal pharyngitis, is a type of pharyngitis caused by group A beta-hemolytic streptococcus. I would like to see even your wife to assess if she has it too. What I find strange is that this isn't the right season for this kind of sickness, and you seem to me a very healthy young man.” the doctor smiled to Logan. “So I would like to do some more exam, maybe a throat culture to pin point why you seem to develop it so easily.”

“What he needs to do and how many days we'll need to wait to know the results?” Veronica asked, taking Logan hand in his.

“Nothing much. He needs to gargle a small amount of salt water and then spit the fluid into a clean cup. We can have the result in one day and half. If we do it now I can give you result on Sunday morning, even if it's my day of rest.”

“Thank you, doctor. We need to be back on Monday, I have to work.”

“That's not a problem, Mrs. Taylor.” the doctor smiled and took the things that he needed for the culture.

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Veronica was in front of the phone when it rang. She had been waiting for the call since 6 am.

“Hello, Victoria speaking.”

“ _Mrs. Taylor, I have the result of the throat culture. Can you pass in my study in half an hour?”_ Veronica didn't like the doctor voice it seemed very serious, the opposite of the jovial man they had known the other day.

“We'll be there. See you later.”

“ _Later, Mrs. Taylor.”_ then he hung up.

“What he said?” asked Logan, he looked really nervous to her.

“He wants to talk with us in half an hour. Get dressed, we need to go.” she began to put on a pair of jeans and a t-shirt and Logan followed her example.

In twenty-five minute the found themselves again in Doctor Dubois's office.

“Good morning, Messrs. Taylor.” the doctor was smiling but Veronica knew that it was a fake one. “I need to speak privately with her husband for a little while, Mrs. Taylor...”

“No.” Logan interrupted him. “Whatever you have to say to me, you can tell her doctor.”

“Okay.” the doctor let them sit on the chair then sighed. “Thanks to the culture I found out what was making you so susceptible to the Streptococcus even so out of season. You had already a light infection caused by the _C. Trachomatis_. It is the bacterium of Chlamydia, Mr. Taylor.”

“What?” Logan exlaimed. “That's not possible! I never did unprotected sex and I'm not cheating on my wife!”

“Mr. Taylor, you don't have Chlamydia, you have an _infection_ in your throat _caused_ by the bacterium of Chlamydia that is making your throat very susceptible to other infection. You had oral sex with your wife recently?”

“Y-yes...” Logan despite the situation blushed a little.

“Then I'm almost sure that your wife has it. I'm sorry Mrs. Taylor.”

“How is that possible? We di... We always do protected sex, I'm not on the pill so we use condoms.” Veronica lied. “And before London I never...” her eyes became big as saucer and she squeezed Logan hand very hard. “Oh my God...” she whispered.

She had sex before, she didn't remember anything about that night but she's not a virgin anymore.

She also knew that Duncan didn't have STD. He did periodical test for his soccer team and she would know if he was positive to any STD because she had read his file.

That only meant that someone else had raped her at Shelly's party.

“Vee...” Logan was calling her but she almost didn't hear him. She felt something wet on her cheek. She had begun to cry.

“Do you need some alone time...” she saw Logan nodding to the doctor and then he left them alone in his office.

She was breathless, every passing second it was harder to breath, her heart was beating furiously and she felt dizzy.

“Snookums... you need to calm down, you're going into shock.” Logan took his face in his hand and started to wipe away her tears. “Look at me Veronica. Breath, please...”

Her mind focused on his eyes, she saw the sorrow and fear in them. She could feel his breath on her face. She tried to breath in time with him. In and out. In and out. The air started to flow again in her lungs, her heartbeat slowed and the world stopped to spin.

“Are you here with me, Veronica?”

“Yes...” she whispered without looking away from his eyes. “I... at Shelly...”

“I came to the same conclusion, baby.” he stroked her cheek, trying to relax her a little. “And I'm so sorry, Veronica.” she could see the tears asking out in his eyes, the sorrow still there trying to blow out the spark that she had seen in his eyes since they had left Neptune.

“It's not your fault, Logan,” she kissed him, to hell with his pharyngitis. “Please don't blame it on you. The only one to blame is who did it to me...” she could feel the tears running on her cheeks, but she was unable to stop them. He leaned his forehead on hers and they stayed like that for some minutes, waiting for the doctor to come in again.

When he did come back in, Veronica was calmer and ready to hear what they needed to do.

Doctor Dubois gave them some antibiotic and the prescription to buy more for the two next week.

“Mrs. Taylor, I know that this will be an awkward question, but I need to ask it. Did you have been raped?” Veronica mastered the strength to nod. “Then I'll make this certificate that will say that you have been infected by chlamydia. It will help if you want to pursue who did it, but I'll need your real name.”

“Do it, Veronica.” Logan said before she could protest. “Her name is Veronica Mars, I'll leave mine out.”

The doctor nodded and printed the certificate.

“I'll update your file and send it to your hospital. Is that alright?” she nodded and left him the information that he would need.

In ten minutes they were out of the doctor office, it had begun to rain and Veronica smiled sadly thinking that the weather was reflecting their moods.

  
  



	14. The storm

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I don't think in the show was ever said when Kendall and Richard Casablancas got married, and if it was I didn't hear it, we only saw her show up already married to him and in an affair with Logan, so I presume that she married Richard during the start of the summer, maybe late June or early July. If you know differently please tell me.  
> I think that summer time will go on for four other chapters then we'll go back to the show timeline!  
> Happy about it? Sad for the end of the summer?   
> For the second season I had in mind to do a chapter for every episode that I think need major changes. So I think that we will have something like 10 or 12 more chapters before Veronica and Logan go back home.

**14\. The Storm**

Leo was proud of himself.

After hearing a little bit of the discussion between the Sheriff and Mr. Mars, he knew that he couldn't work under someone that would let a rapist stay unpunished, so he started to help Mr. Mars in building a campaign for his candidacy as a Sheriff in September.

He couldn't think about what happened to Veronica. He liked her. If he had more time with her before she left with the Echolls kid, maybe he could have learned to love her. Thinking that she was raped and left alone to live with the experience made him sick. What monster could send away a scared little girl? Sheriff Lamb was that monster, and he needed to be put away.

The Sheriff Department of Neptune didn't have a good reputation in all of the districts except the 09er one. It’s public knowledge that the Sheriff helped you only if you had enough money to buy his service.

Leo had become an officer to help the helpless; since he was a little kid, he couldn't stand bullies, and yet now he worked for the biggest one. Lamb had seemed to care about what happened to Veronica, at least for five minutes, then he turned back to the same Sheriff who everyone loved to hate.

He had worked with Keith and his girlfriend, Alicia, for the campaign for two weeks now, and this time, he started to know Keith Mars better. In Leo’s eyes, he was a very good father and an honorable man -- the type of man that he would like to work for.

During his time in the Fennel/Mars house, Leo had started to know even the kids that were Veronica's friends, even that biker boy, Navarro. And he had to admit that with the influence of that MacKenzie girl, the boy was starting to walk on the right side of the law. He hadn't seen him in the Sheriff Department since the start of July, and that last time, it was for a speed ticket. Keith explained to him that it was all Mac’s work: she had told him she liked him as he was, but wouldn't come to help him if he got in trouble with the law. So Eli stopped his less righteous activities and, in his capacity, tried to make his gang do the same. That didn't work much. Leo had seen some of the PCHers, that Thumper guy more than others.

“Leo, would you like to stay for dinner?” asked Mrs. Fennel, bringing him back on earth.

“How could I say no to a homemade dinner?” Leo smiled, making Alicia blush a little. “Thank you Mrs. Fennel.”

“Call me Alicia. Mrs. Fennel makes me feel old.”

“But you are old, mom!” Wallace said from the other room, laughing.

“ Need I remind you that I could ground you kiddo?” Alicia said with a sweet voice to her son.

'Mothers, you can't win with them.' Leo thought, laughing at Wallace.

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Logan couldn't take it anymore.

Since two weeks ago _, when Veronica had found out that n_ ot only Duncan raped her, she had been closed off. At the start, he let her be, giving her space to digest the new information. But things hadn't improved after; not only wasn’t he welcome to share her bed anymore—that could understand--but she didn't want to talk with him anymore. She had always been so talkative, and now, if she said two words in an hour, it would be a miracle.

Logan missed Veronica, and it had nothing to do with their intimacy.

He could hear her cry at night, but she wouldn't let him comfort her. He only wanted to take her in his arms, let her know that he loved her so much and that it hurt him to see her so sad and fragile.

Logan knew that even Lydia is very worried about Veronica. He didn't know what to tell her anymore.

Veronica still goes to work, she has lunch with him, but she always seemed to be in another world. Her eyes had seemed so vacant that he sometimes finds himself afraid that she could do something harsh, like take out her pain on herself, so he always observed her in every way he could, searching for signs of self-abuse. Luckily, for now, he hadn't seen any.

She needed to talk, but every time that he had proposed to do just that, she lashed out on him, screaming things that hurt him badly, and he would have welcomed that, if only she hadn't seem dull even while she was bellowing at him. She was trying to hurt him to be left alone, using his guilt to push him away. She had always been very good at it, even when she was naive-Veronica back in the Lillydays.

It was Sunday, two weeks after the Doctor gave them the news, and today was the day they finished her treatment for Chlamydia.

Veronica was on the couch, looking out the windows, like she had done all days after coming home.

“Fuck you.” Logan exclaimed trying to get her attention. It seemed to work because her eyes turned towards him. “Can you hear me? I said. Fuck. You. Veronica.” She still looked at him but didn't say anything, her eyes as dull as always. “I waited, I gave you space, I tried to be gentle and understanding, but it's enough! You're living like a zombie! We are worried for you, me, Lydia... even Mark knows that something isn't right with you! You don't seem to care about anything anymore, and I miss you Veronica.” He was on the verge of crying. “You won't talk to me, Veronica. I can hear you cry every night, but if I try to comfort you, you start to scream that's my fault and what's killing me is that you are zombie-like even when you scream.” The tears started to run down his cheeks. “I hate myself for it, but I can't do anything about it now, Veronica.”

“Shut up,” she hissed, looking at him with hate, and, for the first time in a week, Logan felt like he could smile. That was the first real emotion on her face from days.

“I won't Veronica, I'm not your puppy. If I want to talk, I will, and now I'm telling you that you need to start to put your shit together. I can't take it anymore, Veronica! Scream at me, tell me that it’s my fault, hate me, go back home to your dad, do something!” He was getting worked up.

“I was raped, okay, Logan!” She screamed and jumped up from the couch. “I was raped, not once but at least two times from my ex-boyfriend and someone else! They abused my body while I was unconscious and they gave me Chlamydia!” She was crying and Logan tried to take some steps towards her without her noticing. “I have nightmares of that night, and every time, it’s a different person who did it! I hate not knowing who did this to me!”

“Then fight back, you're Veronica fucking Mars, you are the kick-ass PI. Find out who did it and we'll make him pay! You are letting him win, you are not living anymore. You're going through the motions.”

“How can I?” She had lost the hatred in her eyes; she was looking a little more like the Veronica he loved so much. “We are at the other end of the state.”

“I don't know, we can make a list of the people that were at the party, we could hack Neptune's hospital database and find whoever had Chlamydia at the time.”

“I don't know how to do it. This kind of things is Mac’s expertise.” She looked down and Logan took advantage of it to take the last steps towards her and took her in his arms. She tried to free herself for a little while then stopped and, for the first time in a very long time, she let him comfort her while she cried.

Logan didn't know how much time had passed. The only thing he knew was that having her in his arms again was the most beautiful sensation ever.

“You know that we need to talk some more,” he whispered in her ear when her sobs subsided. She nodded a little and looked him in the eyes. “Some of the things that you said hurt me, Veronica. I thought that you had forgiven me for that night, for what I was part of, but it seems that I was wrong.”

“Logan...”

“I'm so sorry for that night, Veronica,” he interrupted her. “If I could turn back time, I would erase all that I did to you, but I can't and if you still want to be with me, we need to talk about it. Fuck, I don't think we could even be friends if we can't put that in the past.”

“I'm so sorry, Logan.” Her eyes were wet again. “I didn't mean it. I know that it wasn't your fault, I told you that from day one, but I'm scared and I lashed out on you because you are all that I have now, and I knew it was wrong, but I couldn't stop.” She hugged him again.

“You're sure? You aren't only putting your true feeling about me and that night in a box to ignore them, then the next time that something happens you'll throw them back at me?” He was scared, if she uses it again, he isn’t sure that he could stay sane. The guilt that he felt about that night was a huge weight that he knew he would carry for all his life. He would never forget that it was the drugs that he and his friend had brought to the party that made her an easy prey for the abuser.

“I promise you that I'm not,” she smiled a little and kissed him on the cheek. “I know you, Logan, even when I fought with you at school, when I hated you, I wouldn't have let anyone hurt you.” Logan smiled and started to open is mouth. “That punch from Weevil doesn't count and I stopped him before he could really hurt you.” She smiled at the memory. “You asked for it that time.” She took his hands in hers. “We have been on the run for four months and in this time we both grew, we matured and I found out that I like this Logan who’s both my old friend and a little bit of a jackass.”

“I want to be with you, Logan, I missed you too these past days, but I was scared that you wouldn't want anything to do with me after... that.” She blushed a little and Logan knew that she was ashamed of what she had thought of him.

“You're very stupid sometimes, sugarpuss,” Logan smirked at her. “I already told you that I love you, Veronica. It's not something that I can stop, it's not something that will go away at the first problem we have, it's not something that could be turned off by something that wasn't under your control.” He kissed her on the lips and was happy when she kissed him back. “I love you, and all of this… it only made me fall in love with you even more.”

“Thank you, Logan.” she whispered, cuddling with him on the couch.

“Rest a little, Veronica,” he said softly in her ear. “I can see that you're very tired.”

“Stay with me?”

“Always.”

In the next week, things started to turn better, Veronica was talking again; Logan had seen her smile at one time, he even went back to sleep next to her, comforting her while she had nightmares about that awful night.

Logan was happy that she was trying to live again, but he knew that she had something in her mind. He had asked her one time, and she told him that she wasn't ready to share her last secret and asked him to be patient with her. She said that she would tell him as soon as she can, and he believed her.

To help her overcome the experiences, Logan had started to read websites where other rape victims had told their story and had written down what helped them the most to go on with life. He started to share with her some of his stories about his dad, things that he hadn't told when they were kids, and she helped him with the results of his father’s abuses. He didn’t want her to blame herself on the whole thing. He gave her all the power in their relationship, letting her know that she was in control of their intimacy.

He knew that she wouldn't overcome it in a week or a month; he knew this, as he still found his experience with his dad troubling, she would have the same difficulties with her rape. These are things that aren't easily forgotten, taking time and help for them to heal. For now, they had one another, but maybe when they would go back home, she would let her dad help her a little, maybe even he could let someone else help her.

Trying to help Veronica made him understand that he wasn't as okay with his dad’s abuses as he wanted to believe. Some nights, it was Veronica that comforted him when he had nightmares about his dad.

They weren't all right, but they were getting better-- learning to work together on their problems, to trust in the other-- and for people like them, that was a very big step forward.

Logan looked at Veronica-- she was with Lydia on the couch, touching her large stomach and smiling while she watched the video of the echography. She was beautiful while she smiled. Seeing her happy about the little kid that was growing in their friend’s abdomen made him smile. Who would have known that Veronica Mars would become so wrapped up in a pregnancy?

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Meg was happy. Finally, Duncan came back from his vacation. She missed him very much; the phone calls and the e-mails weren't enough. She wanted to touch him, hug him and kiss him.

He had asked her to come to the airport so they could go out for a while and so he could tell her about some of the places he visited. She had acquiesced and waited for him to show up.

When she saw his face in the middle of the crowd, exiting the terminal, she ran towards him, a big smile on her face.

“I missed you,” she whispered to him, hugging him and inhaling his scent. She had missed doing this so much. “It was a long month without you here.”

“I missed you too, Meg,” he smiled down at her. “Where do you want to go?”

“I prepared a picnic; we could go to the beach or maybe on the viewpoint.”

“That would be nice.” He took her hand in his and went out of the airport with her. “Wait a moment, I'll leave the bags with my father's driver and I'll be back.” Duncan kissed her on the cheek and went towards the limo that was waiting for him. He talked a bit with the driver and then came back. “All done.”

They went to her car and he drove them towards the beach. Hand in hand, they walked towards the sea, trying to find a good spot for their picnic.

“Look who’s here!” Both of the teens looked towards the source of the noise. “Duncan, how are you kiddo?” Richard Casablancas Senior was smiling at them, a very gorgeous woman at his arm.

“Very good, Mr. Casablancas, I just come back from my vacation.”

“And who is this beautiful lady with you?” The man asked looking at Meg.

“This is my girlfriend, Megan Manning,” Duncan gestured towards Meg.

“Pleasure to meet you,” she said shyly.

“Pleasure is all mine, Meg,” Richard smiled at her, and then turned towards the woman at his right. “How rude of me... this is Kendall, my third and last -I hope- wife. Kendall this is Duncan Kane, you may have heard of his father, the chief of the Kane's Industry.”

“I heard of him. It’s nice to meet you, Duncan.” Kendall said completely ignoring Meg. She didn't like the way the older woman was looking at Duncan, like he was a delicious candy to be tasted.

“It was nice to meet you both, but we haven't seen each other for a month and we had a little picnic in our agenda,” she said, taking Duncan's hand, trying to stake a claim on him in some way.

“Then go, I won't stop you...” Richard said, smiling at them both. “Have fun kids!”

They waved at them and then went on in the search of a good place for their picnic.

  
  


**14\. The Storm**

Leo was proud of himself.

After hearing a little bit of the discussion between the Sheriff and Mr. Mars, he knew that he couldn't work under someone that would let a rapist stay unpunished, so he started to help Mr. Mars in building a campaign for his candidacy as a Sheriff in September.

He couldn't think about what happened to Veronica. He liked her. If he had more time with her before she left with the Echolls kid, maybe he could have learned to love her. Thinking that she was raped and left alone to live with the experience made him sick. What monster could send away a scared little girl? Sheriff Lamb was that monster, and he needed to be put away.

The Sheriff Department of Neptune didn't have a good reputation in all of the districts except the 09er one. It’s public knowledge that the Sheriff helped you only if you had enough money to buy his service.

Leo had become an officer to help the helpless; since he was a little kid, he couldn't stand bullies, and yet now he worked for the biggest one. Lamb had seemed to care about what happened to Veronica, at least for five minutes, then he turned back to the same Sheriff who everyone loved to hate.

He had worked with Keith and his girlfriend, Alicia, for the campaign for two weeks now, and this time, he started to know Keith Mars better. In Leo’s eyes, he was a very good father and an honorable man -- the type of man that he would like to work for.

During his time in the Fennel/Mars house, Leo had started to know even the kids that were Veronica's friends, even that biker boy, Navarro. And he had to admit that with the influence of that MacKenzie girl, the boy was starting to walk on the right side of the law. He hadn't seen him in the Sheriff Department since the start of July, and that last time, it was for a speed ticket. Keith explained to him that it was all Mac’s work: she had told him she liked him as he was, but wouldn't come to help him if he got in trouble with the law. So Eli stopped his less righteous activities and, in his capacity, tried to make his gang do the same. That didn't work much. Leo had seen some of the PCHers, that Thumper guy more than others.

“Leo, would you like to stay for dinner?” asked Mrs. Fennel, bringing him back on earth.

“How could I say no to a homemade dinner?” Leo smiled, making Alicia blush a little. “Thank you Mrs. Fennel.”

“Call me Alicia. Mrs. Fennel makes me feel old.”

“But you are old, mom!” Wallace said from the other room, laughing.

“ Need I remind you that I could ground you kiddo?” Alicia said with a sweet voice to her son.

'Mothers, you can't win with them.' Leo thought, laughing at Wallace.

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Logan couldn't take it anymore.

Since two weeks ago _, when Veronica had found out that n_ ot only Duncan raped her, she had been closed off. At the start, he let her be, giving her space to digest the new information. But things hadn't improved after; not only wasn’t he welcome to share her bed anymore—that could understand--but she didn't want to talk with him anymore. She had always been so talkative, and now, if she said two words in an hour, it would be a miracle.

Logan missed Veronica, and it had nothing to do with their intimacy.

He could hear her cry at night, but she wouldn't let him comfort her. He only wanted to take her in his arms, let her know that he loved her so much and that it hurt him to see her so sad and fragile.

Logan knew that even Lydia is very worried about Veronica. He didn't know what to tell her anymore.

Veronica still goes to work, she has lunch with him, but she always seemed to be in another world. Her eyes had seemed so vacant that he sometimes finds himself afraid that she could do something harsh, like take out her pain on herself, so he always observed her in every way he could, searching for signs of self-abuse. Luckily, for now, he hadn't seen any.

She needed to talk, but every time that he had proposed to do just that, she lashed out on him, screaming things that hurt him badly, and he would have welcomed that, if only she hadn't seem dull even while she was bellowing at him. She was trying to hurt him to be left alone, using his guilt to push him away. She had always been very good at it, even when she was naive-Veronica back in the Lillydays.

It was Sunday, two weeks after the Doctor gave them the news, and today was the day they finished her treatment for Chlamydia.

Veronica was on the couch, looking out the windows, like she had done all days after coming home.

“Fuck you.” Logan exclaimed trying to get her attention. It seemed to work because her eyes turned towards him. “Can you hear me? I said. Fuck. You. Veronica.” She still looked at him but didn't say anything, her eyes as dull as always. “I waited, I gave you space, I tried to be gentle and understanding, but it's enough! You're living like a zombie! We are worried for you, me, Lydia... even Mark knows that something isn't right with you! You don't seem to care about anything anymore, and I miss you Veronica.” He was on the verge of crying. “You won't talk to me, Veronica. I can hear you cry every night, but if I try to comfort you, you start to scream that's my fault and what's killing me is that you are zombie-like even when you scream.” The tears started to run down his cheeks. “I hate myself for it, but I can't do anything about it now, Veronica.”

“Shut up,” she hissed, looking at him with hate, and, for the first time in a week, Logan felt like he could smile. That was the first real emotion on her face from days.

“I won't Veronica, I'm not your puppy. If I want to talk, I will, and now I'm telling you that you need to start to put your shit together. I can't take it anymore, Veronica! Scream at me, tell me that it’s my fault, hate me, go back home to your dad, do something!” He was getting worked up.

“I was raped, okay, Logan!” She screamed and jumped up from the couch. “I was raped, not once but at least two times from my ex-boyfriend and someone else! They abused my body while I was unconscious and they gave me Chlamydia!” She was crying and Logan tried to take some steps towards her without her noticing. “I have nightmares of that night, and every time, it’s a different person who did it! I hate not knowing who did this to me!”

“Then fight back, you're Veronica fucking Mars, you are the kick-ass PI. Find out who did it and we'll make him pay! You are letting him win, you are not living anymore. You're going through the motions.”

“How can I?” She had lost the hatred in her eyes; she was looking a little more like the Veronica he loved so much. “We are at the other end of the state.”

“I don't know, we can make a list of the people that were at the party, we could hack Neptune's hospital database and find whoever had Chlamydia at the time.”

“I don't know how to do it. This kind of things is Mac’s expertise.” She looked down and Logan took advantage of it to take the last steps towards her and took her in his arms. She tried to free herself for a little while then stopped and, for the first time in a very long time, she let him comfort her while she cried.

Logan didn't know how much time had passed. The only thing he knew was that having her in his arms again was the most beautiful sensation ever.

“You know that we need to talk some more,” he whispered in her ear when her sobs subsided. She nodded a little and looked him in the eyes. “Some of the things that you said hurt me, Veronica. I thought that you had forgiven me for that night, for what I was part of, but it seems that I was wrong.”

“Logan...”

“I'm so sorry for that night, Veronica,” he interrupted her. “If I could turn back time, I would erase all that I did to you, but I can't and if you still want to be with me, we need to talk about it. Fuck, I don't think we could even be friends if we can't put that in the past.”

“I'm so sorry, Logan.” Her eyes were wet again. “I didn't mean it. I know that it wasn't your fault, I told you that from day one, but I'm scared and I lashed out on you because you are all that I have now, and I knew it was wrong, but I couldn't stop.” She hugged him again.

“You're sure? You aren't only putting your true feeling about me and that night in a box to ignore them, then the next time that something happens you'll throw them back at me?” He was scared, if she uses it again, he isn’t sure that he could stay sane. The guilt that he felt about that night was a huge weight that he knew he would carry for all his life. He would never forget that it was the drugs that he and his friend had brought to the party that made her an easy prey for the abuser.

“I promise you that I'm not,” she smiled a little and kissed him on the cheek. “I know you, Logan, even when I fought with you at school, when I hated you, I wouldn't have let anyone hurt you.” Logan smiled and started to open is mouth. “That punch from Weevil doesn't count and I stopped him before he could really hurt you.” She smiled at the memory. “You asked for it that time.” She took his hands in hers. “We have been on the run for four months and in this time we both grew, we matured and I found out that I like this Logan who’s both my old friend and a little bit of a jackass.”

“I want to be with you, Logan, I missed you too these past days, but I was scared that you wouldn't want anything to do with me after... that.” She blushed a little and Logan knew that she was ashamed of what she had thought of him.

“You're very stupid sometimes, sugarpuss,” Logan smirked at her. “I already told you that I love you, Veronica. It's not something that I can stop, it's not something that will go away at the first problem we have, it's not something that could be turned off by something that wasn't under your control.” He kissed her on the lips and was happy when she kissed him back. “I love you, and all of this… it only made me fall in love with you even more.”

“Thank you, Logan.” she whispered, cuddling with him on the couch.

“Rest a little, Veronica,” he said softly in her ear. “I can see that you're very tired.”

“Stay with me?”

“Always.”

In the next week, things started to turn better, Veronica was talking again; Logan had seen her smile at one time, he even went back to sleep next to her, comforting her while she had nightmares about that awful night.

Logan was happy that she was trying to live again, but he knew that she had something in her mind. He had asked her one time, and she told him that she wasn't ready to share her last secret and asked him to be patient with her. She said that she would tell him as soon as she can, and he believed her.

To help her overcome the experiences, Logan had started to read websites where other rape victims had told their story and had written down what helped them the most to go on with life. He started to share with her some of his stories about his dad, things that he hadn't told when they were kids, and she helped him with the results of his father’s abuses. He didn’t want her to blame herself on the whole thing. He gave her all the power in their relationship, letting her know that she was in control of their intimacy.

He knew that she wouldn't overcome it in a week or a month; he knew this, as he still found his experience with his dad troubling, she would have the same difficulties with her rape. These are things that aren't easily forgotten, taking time and help for them to heal. For now, they had one another, but maybe when they would go back home, she would let her dad help her a little, maybe even he could let someone else help her.

Trying to help Veronica made him understand that he wasn't as okay with his dad’s abuses as he wanted to believe. Some nights, it was Veronica that comforted him when he had nightmares about his dad.

They weren't all right, but they were getting better-- learning to work together on their problems, to trust in the other-- and for people like them, that was a very big step forward.

Logan looked at Veronica-- she was with Lydia on the couch, touching her large stomach and smiling while she watched the video of the echography. She was beautiful while she smiled. Seeing her happy about the little kid that was growing in their friend’s abdomen made him smile. Who would have known that Veronica Mars would become so wrapped up in a pregnancy?

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Meg was happy. Finally, Duncan came back from his vacation. She missed him very much; the phone calls and the e-mails weren't enough. She wanted to touch him, hug him and kiss him.

He had asked her to come to the airport so they could go out for a while and so he could tell her about some of the places he visited. She had acquiesced and waited for him to show up.

When she saw his face in the middle of the crowd, exiting the terminal, she ran towards him, a big smile on her face.

“I missed you,” she whispered to him, hugging him and inhaling his scent. She had missed doing this so much. “It was a long month without you here.”

“I missed you too, Meg,” he smiled down at her. “Where do you want to go?”

“I prepared a picnic; we could go to the beach or maybe on the viewpoint.”

“That would be nice.” He took her hand in his and went out of the airport with her. “Wait a moment, I'll leave the bags with my father's driver and I'll be back.” Duncan kissed her on the cheek and went towards the limo that was waiting for him. He talked a bit with the driver and then came back. “All done.”

They went to her car and he drove them towards the beach. Hand in hand, they walked towards the sea, trying to find a good spot for their picnic.

“Look who’s here!” Both of the teens looked towards the source of the noise. “Duncan, how are you kiddo?” Richard Casablancas Senior was smiling at them, a very gorgeous woman at his arm.

“Very good, Mr. Casablancas, I just come back from my vacation.”

“And who is this beautiful lady with you?” The man asked looking at Meg.

“This is my girlfriend, Megan Manning,” Duncan gestured towards Meg.

“Pleasure to meet you,” she said shyly.

“Pleasure is all mine, Meg,” Richard smiled at her, and then turned towards the woman at his right. “How rude of me... this is Kendall, my third and last -I hope- wife. Kendall this is Duncan Kane, you may have heard of his father, the chief of the Kane's Industry.”

“I heard of him. It’s nice to meet you, Duncan.” Kendall said completely ignoring Meg. She didn't like the way the older woman was looking at Duncan, like he was a delicious candy to be tasted.

“It was nice to meet you both, but we haven't seen each other for a month and we had a little picnic in our agenda,” she said, taking Duncan's hand, trying to stake a claim on him in some way.

“Then go, I won't stop you...” Richard said, smiling at them both. “Have fun kids!”

They waved at them and then went on in the search of a good place for their picnic.

  
  



End file.
